What are Family Hubs?
Family Hubs are a new way of bringing together all the support a family may need, from pregnancy through to young people turning 19 (or 25 if they have a Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND).
Family hubs will operate as a network of services within your neighbourhood to provide accessible and connected services and support to all families.
These services will work together to provide high quality support for the whole family, so that children, young people, and families will get the right help at the right time.
How can Family Hubs help me?
There are a variety of ways our Family Hub network can support you including:
- Health Visiting, Midwifery and antenatal appointments and classes
- Activities for babies and children aged 0-5
- Support advice and guidance for families of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities
- A range of housing advice and support including homelessness, help with affordability and tenancy arrangements
- Help with debt and money worries including access to food parcels/pantries
- Ways to improve whole family physical and mental health and wellbeing
- Parenting support, advice, and guidance
- Help to build, strengthen and maintain healthy relationships including learning opportunities
- Activities, opportunities, and support for young people
There will also be places across your neighbourhood where access to digital equipment will be available to support with things like job searches, housing applications and booking appointments.
Where will Family Hubs be?
We are planning to have seven family hub networks operating across the borough, which means if you live locally, you should always be able to find support in your neighbourhood.
When will they be open?
Our first Family Hub will be launched on the 14th October 2023 at The Meadows, Ridyard Street, Wigan.
How can you have your say and get involved?
We need your help to ensure that Family Hubs are designed to meet the needs of our families.
We are talking to lots of families, young people, and professionals, to make sure that Family Hubs will work well for as many people as possible.
If you’re interested in shaping the future of family support in your neighbourhood, please take a few minutes and tell us what you think by filling our online form (external link).
We will also be establishing a parent/carer panel in each Family Hub neighbourhood, which will enable parents and carers to work together to help design, deliver and evaluate success across Wigan and Leigh. If you would like to be involved, please contact Diane Bradbury at Diane.Bradbury@wigan.gov.uk.