About Us
Home-Start Bedfordshire
Our volunteers, supporters and staff members have served the Bedfordshire community since 1984. Thanks to you, our charity can help:
- Safeguard, protect and preserve children’s and parents’ mental and physical health.
- Prevent the cruelty or maltreatment of children.
- Relieve sickness, poverty and need among children and parents.
- Promote the education of the public in better standards of childcare.
- And more.
Thank you.
Join Us On
Protecting Childhood
All children deserve the following foundations:
- Physical care. This includes adequate nutrition, shelter, warmth, sleep and rest, and adequate clothing.
- Positive well-being. Such as feeling safe and secure, and access to medical care.
- Love and attention. Including feeling loved and valued unconditionally, receiving praise, and having positive relationships with their caregivers. These elements are linked with positive well-being (e.g., positive self-esteem).
- Access for play and growth. For example, access to toys (and time and space to play), access to outdoor spaces (to experience, learn and grow), opportunities to socialise with other children, and access to education.
Home-Start Bedfordshire provides free services, courses, and resources to protect, preserve and promote the foundations of childhood. Empowering local parents to give children the best start in life.
Supporting Families
Every family deserves a safe place to call home, an income that keeps them out of poverty, and access to health, care and welfare. For many, this isn’t the case. The early years are crucial in a child’s life, but when parents struggle to cope, young children can too. Local families ask for our help for many reasons, including:
- Disabilities and additional needs.
- Sickness and ill health.
- Domestic violence and abuse.
- Bereavement.
- Poverty, financial issues and unsafe environments.
- Mental ill health.
Because Childhood Can’t Wait…
Home-Start Bedfordshire offers free support services to families of babies, infants and young children living in Bedfordshire. We stand alongside parents when they need us most, in times of hardship and tragedy, because childhood can’t wait.
“So my family/household is me and my two sons. The eldest being 8 years old the youngest turning 1… We currently live in a refuge… The reason behind this is because I was being stalked where I previously lived which led to the stalker breaking in to my home. He was actually hiding in my cupboard when I came home one day and jumped out in an attempt to attack me. I was 4/5 months pregnant. I managed to run away with my son without being physically hurt. However the mental effects remain with me.
My volunteer from Home-Start has really helped me in attending multiple doctors appointments with me. Whether that’s meant coming in with me or just waiting in the waiting room for me. I have since been diagnosed with PTSD and take medication to help me cope with my symptoms. I think without Sally I probably wouldn’t have bothered going doctors. So she’s been great with emotional support and practical.
There’s so much she helps with honestly. She helped me declutter the one bedroom flat I was staying in the refuge until moving until a two bedroom flat within the refuge. I requested this help as I felt like the saying ‘tidy house, tidy mind’ is really true. And Sally was amazing… I’ve struggled getting my eldest to school since having my youngest and when Sally comes round it is a big help. The list goes on really.”
Join Our Cause
We believe that every child deserves the best start in life. Do you? Please show your support by donating to our local services.