Last Friday, I had the privilege of cutting the ribbon to open up Home-Start Kirklees’ new office located in Bates Mill just outside the town centre. It was a lively event, with great attendees. It is always a pleasure to work with local organisations such as Home-Start Kirklees, who do great work in our community. I want to say thank you to everyone who was able to come along, and to all the volunteers and staff at Home-Start Kirklees, who were fabulous hosts as ever.
For those who have not heard of Home-Start Kirklees. They are a local community network of trained volunteers, that provide expert support to families with children under five. When I was Chair of the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee, I consistently saw evidence that providing children the best possible start in life pays dividends for their future development and that is what Home-Start do. They help families with the stresses of ill health, isolation, insecure housing, financial insecurity and much more. All in the aid of giving every child in Kirklees the chance to have the best possible start in life.
Services like Home-Start proved invaluable during the COVID-19 pandemic, where they helped thousands of children and families. Home-Start will continue to support our local community as the cost-of-living crisis impacts all of us in Huddersfield. This will be a tough autumn for many families and we all need to look out for each other.
I have always encouraged people to be “nosey neighbours” and what I mean by this is that we should look out for one another and be kind to each other. If a child you know looks like they have gone to bed with no food in their tummy and, later in the year, no heat in their home, let someone know. Let me and my office know and we can contact the family and put them in touch with people, like Home-Start, who can provide the right kind of support. As things get tougher, and household budgets are stretched further and further each month, it is vital that we give expert organisations across Huddersfield, such as Home-Start, the opportunity to be able to help. So please be a nosey neighbour. Look out for your community. We can get through these tough times together.

If you would like to know more about Home-Start Kirklees and the work that they do, you can do so here. If you would like to donate to Home-Start Kirklees and support the vital work that they do, you can do so here.
Thank you.