Thousands of families in Manchester are set to benefit from three brand-new Family Hubs that will offer early support to families and young people through to early adulthood, in a bid to help them thrive and build stronger relationships.
Set to open over the next few weeks, the three hubs in Longsight, Cheetham, and Wythenshawe will provide a range of advice and services- all targeted at parents, children, and young adults.
With more than 136,000 young people aged 0-19 in Manchester the family hubs aim to make sure they and their families get the support they need, at the time they need it, from birth through to adulthood.
Unlike Sure Start Centres which largely provide support aimed at younger children, the age range of those supported through the hubs will be from pre-birth, through the infant and toddler stage, all the way up to age 19 years, or up to 25 for young adults who have special needs.
The hubs have been set up to provide access to a wide range of services to help families navigate all aspects of family life – from health issues such as infant feeding, mental health support, and stopping smoking, to building better relationships, accessing school and education support, as well as providing advice on jobs, skills training, and next steps post-18.
Manchester is one of 14 trailblazer areas nationally chosen earlier this year to receive additional funding from the government’s Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, to fast-track delivery of these new services.
The family hubs are part of a broader five-year action plan called Making Manchester Fairer, which aims to address inequalities in the city that can start early on in life and even affect how long people live for, and their opportunities around work and housing. The plan also includes work around tackling cost of living pressures and poverty, which are also integral to improving health and wellbeing.
Councillor Garry Bridges, Executive Member for Early Years, Children and Young People, Manchester City Council, said: “All the evidence shows that strong, supportive families make for more stable communities and happier individuals – which is exactly what we want for Manchester.
“Investing in our families and making sure they can get the support they need easily from birth through to adulthood is a vital part of this. The family hubs will help us take this work to the next stage and very much build on what we already do around early help and family help, and also through our network of sure start centres.
“Having all this support in one place is a win-win, with the hubs a one-stop-shop based in the community which families can go to for face-to-face advice and additional support when they need it.”
The first of the hubs, Longsight Hub, opened yesterday. This will be followed by Woodville Hub in Cheetham which opens next week on 4 July, with Wythenshawe Hub’s opening to follow later in July.
