Home-Start is a charity that has been established for 50 years, supporting families with at least one child under the age of 5 practically and emotionally.

Home-Start’s volunteers offer in-home, judgement-free, 1-2-1 support for families for 1-2 hours a week . The charity also run a Mother’s in Mind group for military mothers who need emotional support and a safe place to talk and be listened to, judgement free, which children are also welcome to attend.

The Mother’s in Mind group runs every Thursday during term-time and holidays from 10am – 12pm at the Birchfield Community Centre, Yeovil, BA21 5RL.

Home-Start have also begun working with DadMatters, encouraging strong bonds between dads and their child(ren) through support groups and advocacy.

This service is currently only available to serving or military families in South Somerset. Families can self-refer themselves, and referrals will also be accepted from any professional.

To make a referral, please visit the Home-Start Blackmore Vale website here.

Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership (SASP)’s Healthy Happy Holidays initiative is set to return for the 2023 school winter break as part of the Government’s Holiday, Activity and Food programme. Teaming up with Somerset Council, SASP will deliver a program of activities designed to help tackle inequalities in holiday hunger, physical inactivity, and social isolation for children eligible for Free School Meals.

Young people aged 5-16 are eligible for 4 days of activities between Monday 18 December to Thursday 21 December, with bookings opening on Wednesday 29 November. To book activities, parents and carers will need to have their unique booking code provided by their child’s school or referrer. This provision is for children on benefits related free school meals.

For more information and to find out how to book, visit the SASP website here.

Home-Start is a charity that has been established for 50 years, providing practical and emotional support for families with at least one child under the age of 5.

Home Start volunteers offer 1-2-1, judgement-free support for families in their own home. The charity also provide support through Mothers in Mind, a group for military mothers who need emotional support and a safe space to talk and be listened to. Children are also welcome to attend this group, with refreshments and toys available.

This service is currently available to serving (or military) families in South Somerset only, with the potential to be available to all families in the future.

Home Start home visits can be arranged around the availability of the family and the charity’s volunteers. The Mothers in Mind group meets on Thursdays between 10am – 2pm at the Birchfield Community Centre in Yeovil. Both services are free.

For referral forms, professionals and families can visit the website and open the form.

The NHS has launched their Volunteer Responders Check in and Chat service; phone calls that can provide a listening ear and a friendly chat for those who many have been recently discharged from hospital or are simply looking for some companionship.

If you, someone you know, or someone you care for would like support or have any questions about the Volunteer Responder programme please call 0808 196 3646 (8am to 8pm, 7 days a week)

Organic Rhythm has been on a mission to present a range of hands on interactive programs to inspire, educate and entertain all types of audiences for the last 15 years. The Drum Bus is their exciting new project – an American school bus from New York that’s been converted to offer a mobile drumming venue.

This energising, uplifting and stress-releasing activity can connect and bond people and is perfect for team building, conference ice breakers, community building, and more.

Based in Ilminster but ready to travel across South Somerset and beyond, The Drum Bus aims to bring the therapeutic benefits of drumming to you.

Costs vary depending on location so get in touch to discuss.

Singing for the Brain is a service provided by the Alzheimer’s Society where you can meet new people in a friendly, fun and social environment.

Singing can improve your brain activity, wellbeing and mood and you don’t need to be a good singer to benefit. Join for fun vocal warm-ups and sing a wide variety of familiar and new songs in a supported environment.

The group is hosted by skilled, compassionate and experienced group leaders and runs fortnightly on Thursdays from 10am – 12pm at Muchelney House, Abbots Close, Ilminster TA19 0EF.

For more information, get in touch via the details below.

Queen Camel Cares is a support service for people within Queen Camel for those times when life can appear difficult and overwhelming. Maybe you’re returning home alone following an operation, coping after the loss of a loved one, need help with hospital visits or just need someone to talk to. Get in contact via the details below.

The service is free of charge but a contribution towards petrol for hospital visits is always appreciated.

Thrive use gardening to bring about positive changes in the lives of people living with disabilities or ill-health, or who are isolated, disadvantaged of vulnerable. They have over 40 years’ experience of an approach called social and therapeutic horticulture (STH), where trained horticultural therapists work with plants and people to improve an individual’s physical and psychological health, communication and social skills.

If you think Thrive might be of help to you, or you’d like more information, get in contact via the email address below.

Join your local Goldies Sing&Smile session for a fun and friendly social sing-along. We sing to the popular hits of the 50s onwards, with artists like Cliff Richard, Tom Jones and Petula Clark. You don’t have to be able to sing, just love music and good company. Goldies sessions are open to all, but particularly aim to combat isolation but older adults.

LOCATIONS:

CHARD – Crowshute House, TA20 2EZ, on the first Thursday of each month from 10.30am

QUEEN CAMEL – Cleaveside Community Room, BA22 7PR on the second Thursday of each month from 2.00pm

SOUTH PETHERTON – Burnworthy House, TA13 5AD on the first Tuesday of each month from 2.00pm

YEOVIL – Mudford Rec Centre, BA21 4AW on various Thursdays (see website for details) from 11.00am

CREWKERNE – The Henhayes Centre, TA18 8DA on the fourth Thursday of each month from 2.00pm

There is a £3 donation fee and carers are free.

Do you know someone who loves reading but is unable to get to their local library for health, mobility or caring reasons?

Somerset HLS is a free service where volunteers can assist you by choosing and delivering books to you at home. Includes: Large print novels, ordinary print books, audio books, shorter novels which are lighter and easier to hold, Non-fiction books e-books, e-audio books and e-magazines.

Spark iT aims to provide support to anyone in Somerset who wants to access the internet, but can’t currently get online. They do this by:

– Operating and supporting Digital Cafes and other drop-in services in key towns across the county. Click here to find a service near you.

– Accepting referrals from health professionals and charities and providing a one-to-one home and community visiting service. Professionals can click here to make a referral for skills support or our device loan scheme.

– Partnering with community organisations and businesses to help low-income families access digital devices and data.

– Training and supporting staff and volunteers from community organisations to deliver digital support in their own groups and meetings.

– Providing basic digital skills advice by telephone to any Somerset resident who needs it.

Their Helpdesk is open Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm. Call 01458 550 977.

PLEASE NOTE: Spark iT’s services, including their Digital Cafes, will be unavailable from Monday 11 December 2023 to Friday 5 January 2024. For more information about this winter closure, please click here.

Our free Active Befriending ’Walk and Talk’ service aims to support older people who would like to benefit from fresh air and being more active but don’t feel very confident about going out by themselves.

This is a new Befriending service which sits alongside our Befriending and our Friendly Phone Calls services to offer a more active alternative for those who want it.  The service is free, has been devised and supported by Age UK Somerset, Somerset Activity & Sports Partnership (SASP) and Somerset County Council.

What does the Active Befriending service offer?
After clients have registered they will be matched with a suitable volunteer (depending of course on availability in that area).  Then over an initial 8 week period, clients will be called for by the volunteer each week, who will then take them out for a short walk starting from (and returning to) the client’s home.

Somerset Sight is a charity which has been established for over 100 years supporting people with visual impairment through a number of different services. In 2019 the charity was proudly awarded the Queens Award for Voluntary Service.

As a charity we are dependent upon our volunteers for the provision of our many services, one of which is our prestigious befriending service.

Volunteers provide much needed regular company and conversation, help with reading and correspondence and often take people out for a walk, and a cup of tea. This can develop into a firm friendship that often lasts for a number of years.

New volunteers are fully trained and police checked after meeting the local co-ordinator. The volunteer will then be matched to a local sight impaired person for regular visits. All reasonable expenses will be paid.

If you would like to join our friendly team, please contact us for an informal chat.

The Community Services Team support a range of services including wellbeing activities, older persons befriending, a job club and support for individuals and families. For Martock Parish residents only.

If you live in Queen Camel or neighbouring villages you may be able to access a volunteer befriender who can visit you regularly. Contact Health Coach Marie for more details.

If you live in South Petherton and would benefit from a regular visit from a volunteer befriender, contact a Health Coach at the Medical Centre for an initial chat.

‘Call in Time’ is a free public telephone befriending service run by Age UK. It matches volunteers with older members of the public. Not having someone to talk to regularly can be lonely and isolating, particularly if you’re used to sharing your home and time with others. A friendly, weekly, 30-minute chat on the phone can make all the difference.

The calls are friendship calls and are not for counselling or bereavement support.

While we’re waiting to find a suitable match for an older member of the public, we carry out regular, short Good Day Calls with them, to make sure they don’t feel ignored. There is a criteria for example people need to be over 60, live alone or be a full time carer and be able to hear clearly over the phone.

‘Call in Time’ is also looking for volunteers.

A confidential, free, national helpline for older people. They can offer information, friendship and support. They signpost callers to the many, varied groups and services that exist in their communities.
The Silver Line Telephone Friends offers a regular weekly friendship call with a volunteer.

Enjoy a regular chat with a telephone befriender who shares your interests, experience or type of macular condition. Telephone befriending is free, everything can be set up over the phone.

Through befriending, lunch clubs, assisted shopping, activity and friendship sessions, outings, escorts to appointments and much more, MHA’s Live at Home schemes across the UK help to tackle loneliness and isolation in people over 55 – helping them to lead fulfilled lives and remain as active members in their local communities.

Activities and services in South Somerset take place in the Wincanton Methodist Church Hall, 38 High St, Wincanton BA9 9JF, and include:

Tuesdays – Activity and Social Session – 10:30am – 1:45pm – £7

Every other Wednesday – Lunch Club – midday-2pm – £10

Thursdays – Laughter Group – 2pm-4pm – £5

A seated exercise group will soon be taking place on Wednesdays where there is no Lunch Club, and will cost £5 per session. Tea and coffee will be included.

Services will be expanding into Yeovil in the near future.

For more information about any of these services, please get in touch using the contact details below.

If you are facing a life-limiting illness and have concerns or would like someone to talk to, call us. Offering a Friendly Phone Call service during Coronavirus – call 01823 333822 to find out more.

Monthly Sunday afternoon tea parties are a lifeline of friendship for lonely people over 75. Each older person is collected from their home by a volunteer driver and taken to a volunteer host’s home for the afternoon. Bringing people of all ages together, develop fulfilling friendships and support networks.