I just wanted to say that being a volunteer for Home-Start was one of the best things I have done post having children. I was not able to go back to work after two children and after they were slightly older, it was the perfect thing for me to get involved in. The training is interesting and informative and you end up making really good friends with your co-volunteers. Once you are trained you are carefully matched with a family that needs help. The families that ask for help are from all walks of life with a wide range of different issues, no two are the same. But what you will find is that they will become friends and in some cases, life long friends. It is really is hard to describe what it is like to seemingly be doing so little but to have such a huge impact on a family. Just by providing a bit of a helping hand and a shoulder to cry on or even just to lean on ... you can make an enormous difference.

The one thing I should also add is that it will also offer 'you' something; a network of like-minded people who will become like your own extended family.

Give it is try, you won't regret it.

Hi there. Thanks so much for your interest. The training has to take place on Wednesdays unfortunately and is classroom based so we can't run it in any other way. Really sorry. We are likely to run another course in early 2018 - please call us on 020 7924 5268 to discuss whether that course might be more suitable for you. We look forward to hearing from you. Thanks again!

Hi I would be interested as well, and I am a mother with a second language. The only problem is I can't do the training on Wednesday morning, would you be doing it on a different day (Friday), in the evening or as a webinar? I would really love to help.

Hi. Thanks for your interest and for asking a valid question. All the parents we help are willing participants - no one is forced to accept our support. We discuss with the parents at length what support they would like and agree with them a plan at the outset, with the emphasis on working alongside them to encourage and enable them, without judgement. The support is entirely voluntary and we find that one of the main reasons for our success is that we are not authority figures, although we of course liaise with health visitors, social workers and medical professionals etc when necessary. Many of our volunteers and the parents they support form a firm friendship.

Hi, I'm interested in doing this. Can I just ask - the parents you are trying to help - are they willing for people to be involved or are they made to get help for whatever reason, eg to get benefits? I wouldn't want to be involved if it was dangerous or people unwilling and making me feel like the enemy. I knew someone who did something like this a few years ago and she pulled out because the family was so dysfunctional that it was beyond her and the mum was abusive to her. Thanks.

As a Home-Start Wandsworth volunteer, I would wholeheartedly recommend signing up for this - it's a fabulous charity to work for and such an enjoyable and rewarding thing to do. Parents supporting parents - it makes so much sense and it changes lives, both for beneficiaries and volunteers.

Could you spare a few hours a week to help a local family in need?

Home-Start Wandsworth is recruiting volunteers to join our taskforce. Our volunteers visit families in their own homes and provide invaluable emotional support, practical help and friendship to parents who are finding it hard to cope. If you are empathetic, enthusiastic and reliable, and willing to use the knowledge and experience gained from looking after your own family to support others who are struggling, we'd love to hear from you. We ask that you commit 2-4 hours a week to visit a family. We provide up-front and ongoing training and support.

We are especially looking for volunteers with a second language.

Our next preparation course starts on Wednesday 13 September 2017 9.30am-2.30pm and runs for 9 sessions (one session a week). Venue: 20-22 York Road SW11 3QA.

For further details, please contact us on 020 7924 5268, email us at enquiries@homestartwandsworth.org.uk or visit our website http://www.homestartwandsworth.org.uk/volunteerfamily/