Home-Start Portsmouth celebrates 30th anniversary of supporting families across the city

Home-Start Portsmouth is set to celebrate its 30th anniversary on November 10 and has been taking part in a 30 day fundraiser challenge to raise money for the charity to ensure that it can continue for years to come.

The funds raised will be pumped back into the charity to help shorten waiting times, which will enable the army of volunteers that selflessly devote their time to helping others.

The challenge, which has seen all of the staff members and a number of volunteers take part, has included a three-day 300-mile team bike ride in the Home-Start office, volunteers and staff members taking part in the Great South Run, 30 good deeds, afternoon tea and wine tasting evenings and much more.

The Portsmouth branch have supported thousands of families over the years of operating in the city and they have seamlessly slotted themselves into the community.

Tara Juster, 36, has received support from the team and cannot sing their praises enough as they have helped her navigate living with three children, two of which have autism and ADHD.

Tara, of Drayton, is mum to Reuben, nine, Fabian, five, and Quinten, three, and she was referred to the Home-Start team by her health visitor, and she has recently completed six months of home visits which have ‘changed their life’.

Wendy from the team was their home visitor, who would help Tara take the boys to the park, or play with the younger two so she could cook dinner or spend time with Reuben, who has to help out a lot with his younger brothers.

Tara said: ‘Wendy would help me take them to the park, take them to soft play and even just take them in the garden to play. I have got an escapee so there is no popping to the toilet or anything so it was amazing in the summer holidays while there was no school, and my husband works full time so when he is not home we wouldn’t go out and about, but when Wendy was here we could, and that made a huge difference to us.

‘My nine-year-old ends up being treated like an adult because he is a carer and has to step up for his brothers.’

Fabian has a tendency to escape from his home and the couple have had to put multiple things in place to keep him safe, including extra locks and bolts.

The five-year-old’s first escape was when he was 18 months old, and Tara said that he ‘was found on a slip road and because he can’t tell people where he is from, he ends up being lost a bit longer because he can’t talk much.

‘As soon as we realise a way that he gets out, we have to put multiple things in place. We built a porch so he has an extra door to get through.’

Tara got to a point where she was exhausted all the time with her two youngest children as they need ‘two on one’ care, and when Wendy arrived on the scene, she sparked a new found light that has swept through the Juster home.

Wendy, the modern day Mary Poppins, assisted Tara in finding new routines and concepts which can be embedded into their day to day life to ease the pressure on her, whilst also ensuring her children are as happy and safe as possible.

Tara said: ‘I had to grieve for both of them. It is hard to accept that they won’t lead a normal life, hopefully they will over time, but we did have to grieve that our children have something wrong with them.

‘Wendy is absolutely amazing and I would recommend Home-Start to anyone who thinks they need help. They are amazing.’

The family have now pushed open a door of possibilities, and although Wendy has had to move on and help other families in need, they can attend play groups and sessions, which will continue to help them blossom.

The Juster family are just one of many that have received life changing support from the charity, and Veronica Hall-Roberts is another example of the indispensable work that is being done.

Veronica, 39, was involved in a toxic relationship with her little boy’s dad to the point where she was in a dark cloud all of the time and could not see a way into the light again.

She was the victim of domestic abuse, resulting in mental torment which prevented her from leaving her house without panicking about what may happen to her.

Veronica was referred to the Home-Start services through her health visitor and she was offered help from a volunteer who would assist her in going out with her son, Caleb, and help boost her confidence with herself.

She was appointed Chris, who generously devotes his time to help people within the charity, and she said that he has transformed her relationship with the world, and that her confidence has sky rocketed.

She said: ‘I was still very unsure with myself and I was still unsure around everybody else.

‘I met Chris, he met us in the park one day and Caleb was a bit unsure, and then he started playing with him, and it was the fact that Chris instantly spoke to Caleb. He went down to Caleb’s level, not talking about him and he made sure that he was careful when he was talking to me about how I was feeling.’

Heidi Taylor, a Home-Start team member, matched Chris with Veronica, and the mum of one said that she matched them ‘perfectly’, and that it is nice to see Caleb bonding with people outside his family.

Veronica added: ‘I was scared of myself, I would look out of the letterbox before I would go out.

‘I just can’t wait to volunteer myself and I know that it will be beneficial for myself as well.

‘He is a lovely little boy now.’

Veronica, like Tara, has come to the end of her six months with Chris, but she is still in touch with him, and frequently attends the Home-Start play groups with Caleb.

She said: ‘Now, I’m not looking over my shoulder in fear anymore, I can leave the house with Caleb and I feel happy doing that on my own.’

Lauren Forward, and her partner William, was also in attendance of the play group session with Veronica and Tara, and she has said that the support that her family has received has been momentous.

Lauren’s daughter, Layla, has got autism meaning that she has to be supervised constantly which takes it tolls on the couple, particularly because William is in the army, meaning that Lauren is often looking after Layla alone.

Lauren found herself at Home-Start after Layla’s health nurse recommended them and has not looked back since.

She was appointed John Turnbull, who has spent the last few months with her and Layla, which has not only helped Layla, but has also helped Lauren’s confidence when she is out and about.

She said: ‘John has come to the park with us, we’ve gone into Southsea and it has just given me more confidence. Layla needs two to one because of her behaviours which can be quite difficult for me.

‘John has helped us massively, he is amazing and has really helped us all. Layla knows who he is and when he would come over, which has helped her a lot.’

William said: ‘She wouldn’t like it when strangers would come to the house, but now, she is a lot better, and now she knows exactly who is coming and going which has helped massively and I can see a big difference in things.’

Lauren has built her confidence up so much that she now feels able to go out and do shopping with Layla, and manage her behaviour single-handedly which would have been a nearly impossible challenge before John came into their lives.

The Home-Start team dedicate their time to making families in the city feel supported and safe during difficult times in their lives and their is no exhaustive list of reasons why people can come to the charity seeking help, making it accessible for all.