Sylvia Thompson examines a report which found help for families in difficult circumstances is harder to come by in more consumer-driven times.
There are thousands of Irish families who need emotional and morale-boosting support that somehow seems harder to find in these consumer-driven times. This was the message that came out of last week's launch of the report Learning from Families, policies and practices to combat social exclusion among families with young children in Europe.
"Although there have been increases in social welfare payments, a national childcare investment programme and programmes for equality of opportunity in education, there is still no need for complacency," says Geraldine French, author of the Irish section of the report for Home Start Ireland.
French believes the current services are designed for 90 per cent of the people and there is another 10 per cent of the population who, through difficult circumstances, can't get the best from these services.
Mothers in the home with young families living far from services often experience social isolation, compounded by stressful family situations and lack of money.
One mother interviewed for the report said: "Ninety nine per cent of anything you do costs money. All of the free things are miles away from where I live." Another said: "People are slipping through the net; not being able to cope, dysfunctional families rife with alcoholism, violence, drug abuse. Children are seeing this and a new cycle begins." Problems managing debts were also raised in the report.
The need for professionals to be trained to develop a "client-based approach - non-judgmental, respectful and trusting" was also highlighted. The need for preventative services that could help people deal with problems before they became crises was also emphasised.
"We need to tackle all aspects of the problem that this report highlights. This includes low incomes, lack of resources [ savings, property], lack of employment and training, lack of social networks, reluctant use of the services and negative feelings," says French.
It is in these last two areas that organisations such as Home Start can help. Through local networks of volunteers who visit parents at home with young children, Home Start can offer informal contact to help people gain or re-gain confidence to help them at home and in their wider social contexts.
Anna Lynch, chief executive officer of Home Start, says: "Home Start volunteers don't replace social workers. They are non-professional members of the local community who help people interact better with the services they need and offer them personal support as well."
At last week's event, two young lone parents spoke about how Home Start broke their sense of isolation and allowed them move forward in their lives. Joan Kennedy (27) says: "The Home Start volunteer helped me to begin trusting people again and talk openly about my problems. I did a parenting course and learned to relax and play more with my children."
Tracey Brennan was referred to Home Start through her public health nurse. "I was suffering from post-natal depression and felt that asking for help was an admission of failure," she says. However, through the continuous support from a Home Start volunteer, her confidence was restored, which enabled her to access other services. Brennan returned to education to complete her Leaving Certificate and then a four-year degree course in business studies. She now works part-time as an administrator for an engineering company.
These positive stories are echoed in other communities where Home Start operates - in Blanchardstown and Lucan, Co Dublin, Tullamore, Co Offaly, Athenry, Co Galway and Cork city. But the co-ordinators of Home Start say their efforts to support other communities to set up Home Start programmes has been impeded by lack of funding. Anna Lynch says: "We have communities looking to set up schemes and we can't facilitate them because of the lack of support from local funding bodies."
Geraldine French says: "Due to the HSE restructuring, there is no money to develop preventative services. There is a complete lack of sustainable funding for small family support services like Home Start. The voluntary funding generally is spending so much time chasing funding. If they could be given sustainable funding, they could get on with the work of supporting families."