Supporting Parents, Strengthening Families: Trauma Healing Together and Home-Start Perth & Kinross

Supporting Families Every Step of the Way

In January 2026, Trauma Healing Together (THT) and Home-Start Perth & Kinross strengthened their partnership to offer a tailored version of Pathways to Hope for families with children under five.

Home-Start Perth & Kinross has been supporting local families for many years, providing practical and emotional support during some of the most important and challenging years of family life. Through its team of staff, volunteers and projects such as Breast Buddies, the charity helps parents build confidence, reduce isolation and create positive environments where children can thrive.

Working closely with families in their homes means Home-Start is often there during difficult periods. Parents may be managing the pressures of caring for young children while also facing challenges such as loneliness, poor mental health, financial worries, relationship difficulties or a lack of support from family and friends. Through trusted relationships and practical help, Home-Start works alongside parents to help them overcome obstacles and recognise their strengths.

Looking Beyond the Immediate Challenges

As part of its commitment to supporting families, Home-Start wanted to deepen its understanding of trauma and the lasting impact difficult life experiences can have on parents and children. Staff took part in Atholl Academy's Trauma Through the Lens of a Survivor training, which encouraged them to think differently about the experiences many parents bring with them into family life.

The training highlighted how past experiences can continue to shape confidence, wellbeing, relationships and parenting long into adulthood. It also reinforced something Home-Start staff already recognised through their work: many parents are not only coping with the day-to-day demands of raising children but are also carrying the effects of experiences that may never have been properly acknowledged or understood.

This growing awareness sparked important conversations about how families could be supported in a way that addressed both immediate needs and the deeper challenges that sometimes lie beneath them.

Creating Opportunities for Healing

Trauma Healing Together's Atholl Approach is built on the belief that healing happens through understanding, connection and supportive relationships. Through a combination of wellbeing activities, therapeutic support and opportunities to connect with others, the approach helps people explore how past experiences may be affecting their lives today.

For the Home-Start team, the approach offered something that could complement the support they were already providing to families. Together, the organisations recognised an opportunity to help parents not only cope with current challenges but also better understand and recover from the impact of past experiences.

Removing Practical Barriers

One of the biggest barriers facing parents of young children is often the practical challenge of finding time and space to access support.

Many parents simply cannot attend counselling or wellbeing programmes because they have nobody to care for their children. Others may feel guilty about taking time for themselves or worry about leaving their child with someone they do not know.

To address this, Trauma Healing Together secured support from The Robertson Trust to develop a pilot programme specifically for Home-Start families. The adapted Pathways to Hope programme included 12 specially designed group wellbeing sessions and up to 24 one-to-one counselling appointments.

While parents attended group sessions at the THT Hub, Home-Start staff and volunteers provided childcare nearby. For counselling appointments, Home-Start arranged support in the family home, allowing parents to attend sessions without the added stress of organising childcare elsewhere.

For participants, this practical support made a significant difference.

Another parent reflected:

Finding Time for Themselves

For many parents, the programme provided something they had not experienced for a long time: dedicated time to focus on their own wellbeing.

The group workshops created a safe and supportive environment where participants could connect with others who understood some of the challenges they were facing. Through creative activities such as felting and junk journalling, parents were introduced to practical ways of managing stress and improving wellbeing, while also building friendships and support networks. During one session, a participant compared their journey to that of a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly. Inspired by this reflection, the group facilitator introduced a small butterfly farm, allowing participants to witness the transformation firsthand. Watching the caterpillars grow and emerge as butterflies became a meaningful symbol of the change, healing and growth taking place within the group. One participant shared:

These moments of connection became an important part of the healing process. Parents who often felt isolated found themselves part of a supportive group where they could share experiences, learn from one another and feel understood. As one participant explained:

One particularly memorable moment emerged when a participant compared their personal journey to the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. Inspired by this reflection, the group facilitator introduced a butterfly farm to the sessions. Watching the caterpillars grow and transform became a powerful symbol of change, growth and recovery for everyone involved.

Supporting Parents to Parent Differently

Alongside the group programme, one-to-one counselling gave participants the opportunity to explore how their past experiences continued to affect their thoughts, feelings and relationships.

For many parents, this helped them better understand themselves and the ways in which previous experiences were influencing their approach to parenting. One participant shared:

This reflects one of the programme's most important outcomes. By helping parents make sense of their own experiences, the programme supported them to respond differently to challenges, build healthier relationships and create positive experiences for their children.

Rather than simply surviving day-to-day, many participants described feeling more confident, empowered and hopeful about the future.

Making a Positive Difference

The pilot programme delivered strong outcomes for the families who took part:

• 100% achieved five or more positive outcomes through their participation.

• 100% reported improvements in their relationships with others.

• 100% felt more empowered to make positive choices for themselves and their families.

• 100% said Trauma Healing Together offered a unique approach that was not available elsewhere.

The feedback highlighted the value of combining specialist trauma support with practical help that made participation possible. Parents spoke about feeling safe, listened to and understood. They gained new coping strategies, developed stronger support networks and increased their confidence in navigating both everyday life and the challenges of parenthood.

A Partnership That Changes Lives

The success of the pilot demonstrates what can happen when organisations work together around the needs of families.

By helping parents understand and heal from difficult experiences, the partnership is supporting healthier family relationships and creating positive change that can be felt not only by parents themselves, but by their children as well.

For the families involved, Pathways to Hope was about more than recovery. It was about rediscovering confidence, finding connection, and believing that positive change is possible. Through this partnership, parents were given the opportunity to invest in their own wellbeing and, in doing so, create brighter futures for their families.