Caring and volunteering in domestic spaces: an evaluation of a UK Home-Start organisation

Within the context of the current austerity measures in the UK, increasing numbers of families are experiencing hardship. Further, funding for the voluntary and community sector continues to be reduced in the UK. In this... [ view full abstract ]

Within the context of the current austerity measures in the UK, increasing numbers of families are experiencing hardship. Further, funding for the voluntary and community sector continues to be reduced in the UK. In this presentation, we draw on ethnographic research undertaken in Manchester, England with Home-Start, a voluntary organisation that aims to support families experiencing difficulty in caring for young children. Through considering the narrative accounts of families, volunteers and social care professionals, the presentation outlines how the social relationships and connections transformed domestic spaces into spaces of care associated with advice, generosity and friendship. In highlighting the role played by volunteers within the families’ homes, we consider how practices and performances of volunteering co-construct domestic spaces of care. The presentation informs practices of voluntarism, professionals’ connections with a social care voluntary organisation, and the role of an area-based voluntary organisation in providing care in an age of austerity. It has broader implications for social work practice, specifically demonstrating that co-production of care between the voluntary sector, professionals and families supports those experiencing difficulties in managing the everyday challenges of parenting.