Catharine’s story
Catharine is a mother of two young children who found herself not knowing where to turn in a time of need. She searched the internet and came across Home-Start Suffolk who offered her support. Here, she tells us her story about her journey alongside the Home-Start Suffolk team.
“In July 2023 I felt awful and I didn’t know what was happening. I had a four-year-old son, Daniel, and a six-month-old, Iris. One day Daniel wouldn’t do as he was asked at bedtime and was screaming about something. I knew what he was doing was perfectly normal behaviour for a four-year-old, but I was so overwhelmed I didn’t know how to cope. I just walked away from him.
That’s when I knew I needed some support. I was still under the health visiting team for my daughter as she was still young, but I knew they were there to support my daughter. My children didn’t need direct support themselves, there was no issue with the kids, but as a parent I did. It was me that was struggling.
I searched the internet for some support and came across Home-Start Suffolk. It was very accessible – I filled out a self-referral form and the family support team called me within days.
One of the family coordinators, Lou, arranged to come and visit me in my home. She listened to what I had to say and suggested that I might be feeling emotionally isolated. With my permission, Lou also let the health visiting team know that I would be receiving support from Home-Start Suffolk and that they would work alongside each other where needed.
I was then matched with a volunteer who came to visit me who was really lovely and we instantly clicked. My volunteer was an older figure and a calm presence in my life who helped me to gain some clarity. She listened to me word vomit and would occasionally make suggestions, but just being there to listen to me was really helpful. After some time, we moved from home-visits to telephone calls.
I looked forward to the visits and the calls because I felt that Home-Start Suffolk had a really human approach. They weren’t there to tell me what to do or how I should be doing things or offer advice on things I didn’t need help with. I just needed someone to be there and listen and that’s exactly what they did.
At the point that I filled out my self-referral, I was on a downward trajectory. I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t received support from Home-Start Suffolk. My support helped me to start working out why I was feeling so terrible. It was a catalyst for me to get counselling, lay down some boundaries and take control of my life.
I would always recommend Home-Start Suffolk. So many of my friends have experienced difficulties and people are stressed about parenting all the time. I had a good experience, and the support was tailored to what I needed.
Now that I have finished support, I don’t feel like I need Home-Start Suffolk anymore. However, I would make another referral in the future if I needed to and I would advocate for Home-Start Suffolk too. They gave me the clarity and confidence I needed to make a difference for my whole family.”