Hull is to benefit from £3.5million for Family Hubs to support the city’s families.
One-stop hubs will offer support from conception through to age 19, or up to 25 for young people with special education needs and disabilities, in local communities.
Family Hubs will expand what’s on offer in Hull’s children’s centres, and provide help with infant feeding, speech, language and communication, parent /carer and infant relationships, as well as enabling parents and carers to access social activities and peer support and enable young children to make new friends.
Local support workers will help with issues such as perinatal mental health as well as wider support around things such as smoking cessation and job advice.
Whilst 75 areas across the country have benefitted from funding, Hull is one of 14 areas given additional money to become a Trailblazer area. Hull will be sharing with other local authority areas the practice and approaches in place to support local families. The city already has in place a strong network of support for families, and this money will enable the existing work to be built on further.
Councillor Linda Tock, Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services said: “This is great news for Hull and our families. We know how important those early years are for children and their families; for children’s development, early language, communication skills and for parents to secure lifelong bonds with their babies.
“Family hubs bring services together all in one place, helping parents, carers, children and young people to access the support they need more easily and helping to give babies the best start in life.
“We have been working with families in Hull to develop the offer, and we look forward to launching the new Family Hubs in the Spring.”
