With support from the Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Foundation, Home-Starts Sutton, Greenwich, and Croydon are pleased to announce their participation in an exciting new project ‘Connecting from the Start’. The project aims to support vulnerable and isolated new parents during Covid-19 restrictions, targeting those identified as at greatest risk of developing mental health issues. The participating schemes have already started recruiting families to the project.
Home-Start London will work with referring agencies during the project to promote the project activities and ensure that the most appropriate families are referred. Referrers will include health visitors, midwives, GPs, social work teams, perinatal mental health (PMH) teams, parent-infant mental health (PIMH) teams, specialist parent-infant relationship services, and breastfeeding groups.
Home-Start volunteers will be working closely with the families and have already received specially devised training to meet the needs of new parents (and under Covid-19 restrictions). This training was developed by Becky Saunders, Home-Start UK’s Head of Policy, and the specialist training provider, OXPIP.
Elli Josephs, PIMH Associate, has been appointed by Home-Start London to raise awareness with partner agencies of Home-Start’s impact on reducing isolation amongst new and young parents.