News / Barton Hill
Three new family hubs launch in Bristol community centres
Three new family hubs have been launched across Bristol.
As part of a new initiative from Bristol City Council, the hubs aim to provide safe spaces and consistent support for families across the city.
The family hubs have provided greater resources and funding for a variety of localities throughout Bristol.
is needed now More than ever
Launching across Barton Hill, Southmead and Hartcliffe, the centres are driven by the needs of their communities.
In Barton Hill, the Wellspring Settlement has been selected as one of the venues for the new family hubs.
Staff at the community centre were overjoyed to be selected for the scheme.
Julie Close, strategic lead for family hubs and youth work at Wellspring, praised the “endless opportunities presented by the scheme”.
For Close, she’s determined that families are not forced to “endlessly explain their stories” to gain the right help and support for them: “Families are so often thrown about between different systems and people; the family hubs allow for support to be concentrated in one place.”
The settlement is focusing on providing stability for children and parents alike, offering advice on money management and employment support, as well as postnatal guidance and childcare.
Beyond the family hub, the centre is also looking to expand into the Swan, a former pub that neighbours the settlement.
By expanding into the Swan, the staff at Wellspring hope to collaborate with the council to create a youth centre, hiring young people from the surrounding communities to help create the new space.
Overall, the family hubs look set to provide a much-needed lifeline for children, families and young people throughout Bristol.
Main photo: Hope Talbot
Read next:
- ‘These families need support’ – Cost of childcare crisis in Barton Hill
- Why we must invest in Southmead’s community centres
- Hartcliffe-inspired film shortlisted for British Independent Film Award
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