Results
How do we know that what Home-Start offers brings results?
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Because the effectiveness of the Home-Start model has been assessed through reliable surveys that have taken place in different countries. Based on these assessments, Home-Start was featured by the expert group of the EU's European Investing in Children Platform as an excellent practice for its positive long-term effects on parents and children http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1251&langId=en&mode=7#chapter_143
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Because its dissemination in 23 countries and its support from sponsors around the world reflect the value that so many people see in Home-Start.
In a survey conducted in 2016 in families served by Home-Start in our country, the results showed significant positive changes in families such as:
In improving the emotional state of parents:
"I felt the earth leaving my feet. Now I feel matured, I changed"
"I was like a wild animal, I now take care of my daughter alone, I have calmed down, feel good, try"
"The volunteer has helped me to see things differently, to put aside the bad feelings and to overcome the bad energy for my husband"
"I asked for help when I was separating. I felt the ground to leave under my feet. I could not cook or do anything else. I had high standards and excessive demands from myself and my condition was miserable. I was unable to manage everyday life, I felt incompetent as a mother, that I was to blame. The volunteer helped me to live every moment, to be there for me and my children, to grow from being a child to being a woman"
In improving parenting:
"Before we had a lot of stress at home, we did not know how to dress the children, we had ignorance of many things, we now have more connection with the children, more knowledge of how to treat them, more courage, especially their father"
"I play more with my kids, I have a program so I can have more time with my kids"
In the positive impact on children:
"The children have become more disciplined, they show respect."
"My child has changed radically, the fear is gone, and now he feels well, he is more sociable" (child with a history of domestic violence)
"I was very anxious, especially with my children and more so with the big one who misbehaved. Now I feel relieved. I saw improvement in my children: the older child improved in reading and writing and behaviour; from the other two, the one has become more sociable and improved, the other not so."
"The children listen to me more, the older one behaves better."
"We took a puppy. The little daughter, in order to convince me, used the volunteer's table of duties with the duties she would be responsible for."
"The child changed radically, she saw a man on the street and hid his nails in his hand because of the paternal behaviour."
Positive results were identified by parents in other aspects such as in improving their daily lives, in developing their social networks and in using social services.