Will you volunteer to be a Bump Buddy to Hackney’s vulnerable pregnant women?

A mentoring service for vulnerable pregnant women in Hackney wants new volunteers to join its team so it can reach more women in need.

Bump Buddies connects women, who are mainly mothers, with others who are pregnant and in need of additional support.

Midwives or social workers might refer pregnant women to Bump Buddies because they are young or are on the cusp of homelessness or suffering from domestic abuse. Others can themselves because they have no family or social support and language barriers prevent them accessing the care they need.

Through outreach work and a one-to-one befriending scheme, volunteers keep in regular contact through text messages, chats over a cup of tea or walks in the park, and some even go to antenatal appointments.

Over 50 pregnant women have been supported over the past two years, through the scheme managed by the Shoreditch Trust and funded by City and Hackney NHS.

The next nine-week training period begins on Wednesday January 29 2014.

To apply see www.shoreditchtrust.org.uk/bump-buddies.