Families in Ferndown will be able to access a wide variety of services more easily following the opening of Dorset’s first Family Hub which opened to a warm reception from local residents and staff. This Hub is located within a popular community space called The Centre in Tricketts Cross and is the first of a planned network of Hubs across Dorset designed to offer much needed support to young people aged 0 – 25 and their families. The family hub vision is to offer families the integrated support that they need to care for their children from conception, throughout the early years, and into the start of adulthood. This will help parents establish a firm foundation for their children, from which to meet their full potential in life.
Families have said that they sometimes experience difficulty interacting with the complex service landscape and have to ‘re-tell their story’ with different services and professionals. This is often particularly the case for disadvantaged and vulnerable families. However, there is often no single point of access for family services that helps families to navigate and receive the wide-ranging support that they might need.
The Family Hubs project is a priority for Dorset Council and its partners to create a network of places and spaces (physically and online) for children, young people and their families to easily access a range of services. The physical places will be located in a range of venues such as community centres, public libraries, schools or even retail spaces. Family Hubs are designed to be welcoming places to access support services such as NHS health visitors, midwives, early years practitioners, voluntary, community and faith sector partners without needing an appointment or having to travel too far. There will also be opportunities to make friends in the community through activities and be able to get online for additional services.
Cllr Andrew Parry, Dorset Council’s portfolio holder for Children, Education and Early Help, said:
“We are excited to see the opening of the Ferndown Family Hub, which will strengthen the support and services we deliver for children, young people & their families. This is the first of a trailblazing programme of the Hubs that we will be rolling out across the county, and there will also be help available online”
Cllr Cathy Lugg said:
“I am very pleased to have been involved with setting up one of the first Family Hubs in Dorset at the Centre, in Trickett’s Cross. It is an opportunity for families to find help and support for a range of issues, in a place they feel comfortable, from a range of partners.”
More information about Family Hubs can be found here
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