The East Central Family Hub is Launched!
There’s great news for parents and carers in Barton Hill as our long running Family Centre has now been launched as the new East Central Family Hub.
Family Hubs ensure that as parents and carers, you’ll get the support you need, when you need it, and that you have more of a say in how local services are run. Services will be better connected to each other, smoothing your family’s pathway through a network of support, and helping you take control of nurturing and caring for your children.
We held a launch event for local families on Wednesday June 28th, which turned into a double celebration as it was also Eid. There was food, activities, freebies, stalls run by local services, and the chance for families to find out what the new Hub will mean for them.
The Hub was officially launched by our Chair of Trustees, Will Bee, and Councillor Asher Craig, Deputy Mayor for Bristol, and the Cabinet member responsible for Children and Education, helped out by two local assistants!
Will thanked staff who had chosen to work on the day rather than celebrating Eid with their own families. He spoke about the history and merger of the two key organisations that joined together to form Wellspring Settlement, and Barton Hill Settlement’s long relationship with local families:
“Barton Hill Settlement was set up in 1911, and when a group of strange people connected with the university moved into the farmhouse building, local people were a bit curious and suspicious of what was going on. Workers decided the best way to win the confidence of the local community was to start by working with the children, and then working with the mums, and through that, build connections with the wider community. And working with children and families has been at the heart of our work ever since. So we’re thrilled to be the East Central Family Hub, it’s great to see the quality of our work recognised, and be the only voluntary organisation to get that recognition and play this crucial role.”
It was a trip down memory lane for Asher, who many years ago worked at an organisation based at our Settlement Site supporting local families.
“Many of you will already be familiar with the wonderful work of the Family Centre, but from today it will now be part of the new UK wide Family Hub Network, a new one stop shop for busy families, where you can get information, advice and help for anything family related, from activities in the community, help with baby feeding, emotional wellbeing and physical and mental health, early years support and education, parenting support, housing and debt advice, youth activities, domestic abuse services, as well as a whole range of other services run by charities from across the city and based right here.”
Will also took the chance to share some related good news with the people gathered to see the launch of the Hub:
“In the last few weeks we’ve heard that we’ve secured funding to refurbish the pub on the corner, The Swan. Not as a pub, but as a youth centre, with office space above for the Somali Resource Centre. At the moment, we’re recruiting a small youth team to work with young people in the area to help us design the space and be involved right the way through the process. They’ll be able to see the process of tendering for building work and supervising a complex project, which we hope will be finished by next March. We’ll then have an extra new youth facility in this area, and we’ll be able to work with 0 to 19-year olds, and even 25-year olds for those with special educational needs and disabilities. The package together will greatly enhance what we can deliver here at Wellspring Settlement.”
Asher added: “It’s absolutely wonderful news because I remember when you bought the building, and we’re actually now going to have a youth centre alive and kicking, so well-done Wellspring Settlement!”
Keep an eye on our website for more information about the development work in The Swan, and to find out how young people can get involved.
To find out more about the Family Hub, click here, pop in to speak to someone, email or call us on 0117 955 6971.
