WHEN Stephanie Jones was facing her darkest days she never thought she would become a role model for young mums. Now she has turned her life around and is facing a much brighter future as a Home-Start volunteer.

Gayle McBain went to meet the inspirational young woman who hopes her own life-changing experiences will help other Bolton mums.

STEPHANIE Jones is a pretty young mum with two beautiful little boys.

She has an immaculate home in Breightmet and a loving partner who is the father of her sons — yet life for Stephanie used to be far from idyllic.

At the age of 16, she became pregnant with Kian, who is now five.

At that time, her partner, who does not want to be named, used to beat her. He was 10 years older and a drug user. His drug-fuelled rages would trigger the physical abuse.

Stephanie hit back — metaphorically not physically — and that abusive relationship is now a distant memory, for both Stephanie and her partner.

Although she still bears the scars of those days, when she would dread him coming to her home, she has moved on — as has he.

Stephanie, now 22, and her boyfriend have worked hard to make massive changes in their lives and improve things for their sons.

Both are now born-again Christians and are members of Kings Church Bolton.

His drug-taking days are far behind him and while he isn’t proud of his past, he has used his experiences to help others.

Stephanie’s partner now works for a drugs service, helping recovering drug addicts. He is also studying sports development at the University of Bolton.

Stephanie made her mind up she would do something with her life and now has two happy children — two-year-old Keegan completes the family.

She started by going to college, reaching NVQ level four in beauty and holistic therapies, and now has her own mobile beauty business called Vitality.

She also works for the same drugs service as her boyfriend and is a volunteer for Young Parents Support Group in Bolton, helping out as a fitness and boxing leader for teenage parents.

Stephanie also works part-time helping special needs children, but it is her voluntary work for Home-Start Bolton that gives the young mum the most pleasure.

She was approached by Debra Allonby, the teenage pregnancy officer in Bolton, to volunteer for Home-Start. The charitable organisation helps struggling families, giving parents help with relationship problems, ill health, or support to overcome feelings of isolation or depression.

Home-Start runs an accredited training course to help equip volunteers. Stephanie took up the offer to train and now has her level two Working with Families qualification, which involves child protection, post natal depression, parenting skills and family life stress factors.

Stephanie said: “I had reached a stage in my life when I felt I wanted to give something back and show others what wonderful opportunities there are for anyone with young children.”

One of her mentees, Gemma, is a young mum with learning difficulties.

“I visit Gemma every week and I send her little thoughtful text messages every day to let her know I care about her,” said Stephanie.

“She has suffered domestic violence, as I had, so I can empathise with her.”

“I am just glad to help others and it’s something I enjoy,” said Stephanie.

“I want to prove to other young mums that they can do something with their lives.

“So many people seem to prefer to sit around doing nothing all day, but I want to work and I want to make things better for my family.”

Both Stephanie and her partner, who has his own home in Tonge Moor, get a lot of support from their local church and from Stephanie’s parents, Beverley and Garry, who are both 47-years-old.

Judith Whittle, manager of Home-Start Bolton, said Stephanie was one of her star volunteers.

“She is brilliant as a volunteer,” said Judith.

“She is fabulous with other people. She is young and brings a real freshness to it all. Stephanie is great with the younger generation — she gets on with everyone actually.”

  • Home-Start is a national charitable organisation offering a unique service. Volunteers, who are usually parents themselves, are recruited and trained to offer support, friendship and practical help to families in their own home.
  • To help give children the best possible start in life, Home-Start continues to support parents as they grow in confidence, strengthening their relationship with their children and widening their links with the local community.
  • Home-Start has been working successfully in Bolton since 1988 and has supported many families from a wide variety of cultures and backgrounds, including those with issues relating to poverty, ethnicity, disability, single parenthood, teenage parents and coping with multiple births.
  • The service helps thousands of families nationally every year in more than 330 local schemes throughout the UK, as well as schemes with British forces in Germany and Cyprus.
  • Families accepting the offer of a Home-Start volunteer are usually referred by health visitors, children’s centres and social workers. Other referrals come from midwives, paediatricians, child and family therapists, workers in education, voluntary organisations and the families themselves.
  • Home-Start Bolton has 93 volunteers supporting 227 families. Funding from Bolton Early Start, Bolton Social Services, The Henry Smith Charity and other grant bodies has ensured the scheme continues to grow and develop.
  • To find out more about the Home-Start service or if you would life to apply to become a volunteer, call the Bolton office on 01204 362786.