Last week Home-Start teamed up with BT to share some of the wonderful messages received from mothers thanking volunteers who have been supporting their family during the cost of living crisis. The campaign aims to help raise awareness of the difficulties families are facing at this time, while also celebrating volunteers this festive season.
On Friday 9 December, the thank you message from Alloy to her Home-Start Wandsworth volunteer Sarah lit up London after being displayed on the iconic BT Tower. Alloy a nurse, who suffered post-natal depression says of her Home-Start volunteer “Sarah turned my mind from negative thoughts”.
Alloy tells us: “Last year was wonderful in that I had my baby, but it also became one of the darkest times in my life. After giving birth to my third child I was feeling low and I withdrew from everyone and everything.
“I have an amazing family and it was a time for me to be happy, but for some reason every thought was negative. For months I was in a very dark place and felt so isolated.
“I’d never had mental health problems before, and didn’t even realise how isolated I was feeling. Despite being a nurse, I initially failed to pick up on the signs straight away.
“Thankfully in my fog I realised I needed help and went to see my GP where I was diagnosed with postnatal depression. That’s when I was referred to Home-Start Wandsworth who matched me with Sarah, a home visiting volunteer.
“Sarah is an amazing lady who was there for months to listen to everything I was thinking, play with the kids and encourage us to get out of the house. Just having her there made me feel connected, and encouraged me to be positive. As for the children they absolutely love Sarah and really looked forward to her visits.
“What I love about Home-Start is that everyone there understood what I was going through and no one judged me”.
In these tough times, when families are facing challenges from every direction, having regular support from a volunteer can make all the difference.
We need your help. We are looking for people to join our network of trained volunteers. Our next volunteer training course starts in the New Year.
