West Dorset charity Home-Start West Dorset has been forced to close its doors when it was unable to secure funding to continue. Sister organisation Home-Start Wessex has extended its coverage to ensure families in need continue to receive support.

In a statement, Home-Start West Dorset said: “It is with great sadness we announce the closure of Home-Start West Dorset. As an independent charity, we rely on grants. We are devastated that we have not been able to secure sufficient grants to maintain our work for the long term. For 15 years, we have been lucky enough to have trained hundreds of volunteers and helped many more hundreds of local families. A huge thank you to everyone who has helped us over the years.”

Home-Start Wessex has worked closely with staff at Home-Start West Dorset to ensure the safety of families the charity supports and retain the dedicated volunteers in the area.

CEO of Home-Start Wessex, Kathy Fryatt-Banks, said: “All of us here at Home-Start Wessex are very sorry to hear about the closure of Home-Start West Dorset. With immediate effect, we are extending our reach to cover West Dorset, including Dorchester, Weymouth, Portland, Bridport and down to Lyme Regis.

“Our reach now covers a large part of the Dorset Council area, including the Purbecks, Swanage, Weymouth, Dorchester and Bridport and the whole of the BCP Council area including Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch. We also work across the borders of Hampshire and Wiltshire, going as far north as Cranborne and Fordingbridge and as far east as New Milton. The population of this area is over 600,000 with many pockets of high-level deprivation.”

The closure of Home-Start West Dorset highlights the funding crisis affecting charities, made worse by issues including the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, and a rise in poor mental health.

Previously, Home-Start was in the most part funded by local authorities, the NHS and the Lottery. However, that funding dramatically reduced, and the organisation had to find totally different ways to raise the funds to continue.

Kathy said: “Our service is in greater demand than ever before, with more and more families struggling to cope. We see families going through considerable stress and hardship, including a rise in families who have suffered domestic violence, mental breakdowns and been forced into homelessness. We feel for our colleagues at Home-Start West Dorset who have had to make the heartbreaking decision to close. We are keen to do what we can to ensure that families in West Dorset can still access the support they need because childhood can’t wait.”

Home-Start Wessex volunteers offer friendship, practical support and emotional advice to families who are facing difficulties, including poor mental health, postnatal depression, disability, domestic abuse, bereavement, isolation and multiple births.

Their service is in more demand than ever. If you can commit to two to three hours each week to volunteer, contact michelle@homestartwessex.org.uk. No special qualifications are necessary, and full training will be provided. Find out more at https://homestartwessex.org.uk/.