Volunteers provide practical and social supports in a family’s home for approximately 2-3 hours per week.

• Volunteers often just have a cuppa and a chat to catch up with what the children have been doing or to provide a listening ear to the parent. Parents often want someone who is just willing to “ listen”, not make judgements or give advice, and our volunteers are able to do this.
• The volunteer may play a role in providing information about other services and encourage or assist the parents to access these services.
• Volunteers can offer practical support with the children so the parent gets the opportunity to complete household routines or to take time out for themselves for their own personal care such as to have a bath or to make a phone call.
• Volunteers can support parents to establish their routines with their young children such as settling of babies or behavioural management support.
• A volunteer can go with a parent to appointments, assist with shopping or enjoy an outing to a park or a playground with the parent and the children.

It is important that the volunteers are not babysitters and it is preferred that a volunteer does not look after children if the parent is not present. In certain circumstances, however, this may be possible but must be negotiated between the coordinator, the volunteer and the family in advance.

The volunteer can assist with some house keeping tasks but the volunteer is not a house cleaner.

Volunteers can go with the parent in the parent’s car to assist with shopping, go to appointments or to a park or on an outing. Care needs to be taken that the car is in good working order, registered and insured. Volunteers are not insured to transport families in their own cars but will assist families to catch public transport.