HomeStart Mansfield secures funding from the National Lottery for the next 5 years

HomeStart Mansfield opened the doors to its family support service back in 1986. Since then, the charity has worked with thousands of families, offering in-the-home support through their amazing team of volunteers.

The volunteers, who are parents themselves, support each family individually, tackling the problems that many parents can face, such as anxiety and isolation.

HomeStart Mansfield has gone from strength to strength, and has adapted to the needs of the local community over the years. This isn't the first time the National Lottery has supported them. They came to the rescue at the end of 2019 when it appeared as though the local HomeStart was going to be forced to close its doors. They funded the opening of the children's charity shop on Albert Street which allowed the charity to have sustainability, and since then HomeStart Mansfield has continued to grow its services.

The charity now has 3 playgroups across the Mansfield District, that run weekly, and are open to families with babies and toddlers, and also the elderly that may just need a friendly face and a cuppa.

HomeStart Mansfield also works closely with West Notts College, offering several placements each year within the charity shop for their Supported Internship Program for 18-25 year olds.

This new funding is so important when trying to plan for the future. Having 5 years guaranteed means that we can apply for other funding to cover project work, knowing that our charity's core service is secure. Without the core service, the additional projects such as the playgroups and specific work with parents around mental health, cannot run. We would not have our charity shop which would be a real loss to the community, and without the shop, the internship opportunities that we offer would disappear.

We have been so excited to share our amazing news. We want to say a huge thank you to the players of the National Lottery for making this possible, and to all our fabulous volunteers. Without our volunteers, the whole service could not exist.