The two schemes will present on their work supporting parents in Southwark
Minutes:
6.1 The chair invited Deborah Boyd and Carolyn Martin from Home-Start Southwark and Family Action Southwark to give a presentation, attached to the minutes.
6.2 The chair invited the committee to ask questions and a member asked how easy it was to get volunteers and they responded that it is easy to recruit and but they do have a problem with retention, and this is mainly to do with job centre requirements. They explained it cost £2000 to £3000 to train a volunteer.
6.3 A member commented that good parenting was important and the project workers agreed, commenting on the importance of providing early support to parents, which will then enhance the emotional wellbeing of the babies and young children in their care. They said that this is long term work.
6.4 A member asked if they check for older children and the project workers said that they do always keep older siblings in mind and build bridges for older children, but it is harder with older children. They reported they provided a volunteer mentor for a 14 year old. The father’s initiative is working with children up to the age of11.
6.5 A member commented that Southwark as landlord seems to be hindering the work of volunteer projects and recommended working with community engagement to improve working relationships.