The future of services to families with young children in the area has been secured after Home Start Kennet received a £266,000 lottery grant.

Staff at the Pewsey-based organisation were celebrating on Tuesday after hearing their application for core funding for the next three years through the Big Lott-ery’s Reaching Communities Fund had been successful.

The organisation said the funding will enable them to help more families in the Devizes, Marlborough and Pewsey areas until 2016, though they will still need to find £25,000 a year from other sources to cover their costs.

Bel Crompton, who has been the scheme manager for the past three years, said: “We would like to thank all our local supporters who have helped us to keep our service going over the last few very difficult years and enabled us to apply to larger funders from a more stable position.

“We shall still need to raise additional funds to match part of the lottery funding, so your support will still be needed and valued in the coming months and years.”

Home Start Kennet has been offering support to families with young children for the past 25 years, training volunteers who regularly visit families in need of help.

Mrs Crompton said: “When you have young children you always face difficult times.

“Our volunteers are trained to give support and prevent these problems escalating into further crises.”

Among their recent cases, a Home Start Kennet volunteer supported a male lone parent in the Devizes area to cope with his own ill health, housing difficulties and the demands of raising two children, one under five and one over five. The volunteer helped the man to access local services and demystify the processes of getting help.

In another case, a volunteer has given weekly support to a mum with significant disabilities in Marlborough who has two children under five.

Mrs Crompton said: “This has enabled the mum to consider ways to access transport independently, manage the children’s behaviour, assist with practical activities at home and connect the mum to another local mum with disabilities for peer support.”

If you think you might benefit from the support of a Home Start Kennet volunteer, contact them on (01672) 569457 or email homestartkennet.a@btconnect.com