Maria and her partner Sel were referred to Home-Start Croydon by their Health Visitor. They had a 2 year old daughter and baby twins. Sel worked full time and so Maria was at home with the three children during the week. Maria struggled to manage the three children at home alone. She was very isolated and suffered from mild depressed, finding it difficult to get motivated. She didn’t take the children out unless her partner could help. This meant the babies were not attening the baby clinic and the two year old was not spending much time out of the house or with other children.
Maria was matched with Sonia, a home-visiting volunteer, who visited her on Tuesday mornings from 9.30am till 12.30pm. Sonia would help Maria get the children dressed and then look after them while Maria got herself ready. Sometimes Maria would do some washing, cleaning or cooking while Sonia played with the children. Other times they would go out for a walk to the park or shops. Sonia also helped Maria with taking the babies to be weighed at the baby clinic regularly. After a few months Maria felt ready to take the three children to the stay and play group at the local children’s centre. The group she wanted to attend was on a Thursday morning but Sonia was able to swap her support day and help Sonia to manage the three children at the group. When the two year old turned three, Sonia supported Maria with looking at nurseries.
After nine months of support from Sonia, Maria was in a very different place. Her eldest was now in nursery and she had made friends with one of the mums whose child attended the nursery. Maria attend the children’s centre with the twins on her own and felt less isolated.