Home-Start is a partner of the Social Services
Social Services, both public and non-governmental, are Home-Start’ main partners. There are many forms of cooperation that we develop:
Social Services, assessing the needs of a particular family addressed to them, think that Home-Start is a service that can support them and suggest to the family to work with Home-Start.
There are some cases where a family served by a Social Service is advisable to receive complementary support from Home-Start and thus organise a collaborative plan to meet the needs of the family.
Home-Start can refer a family to a social service if they consider that Home-Start’s experience and purpose do not allow it to support the family.
Home-Start, when supporting a family, can be confronted with issues that cannot handle. They will ask, with the consent of the family, the help of another more specialised service.
Home-Start plays a crucial role in enabling and encouraging families to use Social and other services and to ensure better relationships with them.
Home-Start is a link in the family support chain and helps address its needs in a more integrated way. Home-Start volunteers transfer their life experiences, give time, practical help and work with the family with flexibility, that is, they do things that may not match the role of statutory Social Services but also may burden their already heavy workload.
Home-Start’s collaboration with other family support services is based on:
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mutual respect
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the clarity roles
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acknowledged communication channels
Home-Start is greatly appreciated due to its open, honest and reliable relationship it builds with the families and is increasingly regarded by professionals working in the governmental and non-governmental sector worldwide as a valuable source of help with which they can work for the benefit of the family. This is reflected in the high number of referrals received by Social Services and professionals.
