Home-Start Watford and Three Rivers

We are an independent charity (started 1993) with nine highly experienced staff and 70+ volunteers, committed to improving the welfare of families with at least one child under five years in Watford, Three Rivers and Hertsmere. We work with the whole family, intervening early to prevent crisis or family breakdown, strengthening parenting and family relationships, empowering families to become more resilient. We deal with issues including debt, domestic violence, drug/alcohol abuse, children's behaviour, multiple births, learning difficulties, refugee families, social isolation, physical and mental health. We accept referrals from professionals including Health Visitors, Family Centre Workers, and directly from families who can refer themselves. Over 25 years, our main service has been providing free practical and emotional family support in the family's home through weekly visits of a trained volunteer for up to nine months. We work in one of the most ethnically diverse areas of Hertfordshire, with a high number of transient families, almost double the national percentage for homelessness, pockets of high deprivation, including one of Hertfordshire's most deprived wards, high child poverty, and unusually high levels of family social isolation (78% versus 48% national average). We are embedded in our local community through daily contact with 100+ families/year and strong local relations. This enables us to engage even the most isolated families and provide a vital progression from isolation to building the confidence to access community activities. Our home-visiting volunteers are all parents, recruited from a wide range of ethnic and social backgrounds to reflect our local community. We are tireless and accomplished fundraisers with extensive support from individuals, schools, local businesses, Children's Centres, local radio and newspapers. We love our work with families and are dedicated to seeing families succeed.