Home-Start Kernow are a charity working across Cornwall offering free, confidential support, friendship and practical help to parents of children under 5 who are going through a difficult time. Being a parent, whatever your situation, can be very difficult, especially when children are young. Many parents feel exhausted and overwhelmed by the stresses of family life, particularly if they have little support from family and friends when they need it most. For some parents it’s a particular struggle because they are also having to cope with issues such as post-natal depression, their or their child’s illness or disability, isolation or multiple birth. A carefully selected volunteer, who has parenting experience themselves, regularly visits a family, in their own home, offering emotional and practical support through difficult times for as long as it is helpful or needed. We also offer on -line and face to face parent support groups We aim to work with families most in need with the volunteers we have on board. This friendly parent-to-parent support is a simple yet effective way of enabling families to get back on track. Our staff team work to understand the needs of the family and keep in touch to ensure the family gets what they want from Home-Start. We also train, supervise and check volunteers for safeguarding purposes to ensure everyone is safe.