Raising children can be tough, especially when you don’t feel like you have family or friends nearby who can be there for you when things get stressful. That’s why the support parents get through our Family Hubs is so important.
We spoke with Sophia, a Family Support Coordinator at one of our Family Hubs in Smethwick, who explains what Family Hubs are and how they make a big difference in the lives of families in their local community.
What is a Family Hub?
“A Family Hub is essentially a service in the community for all families from 0 to 25 to make sure that you as a parent can get access to whatever support that you need.
“We have services for babies, we offer help with your well-being, we support with school readiness to get your children ready to start their educational journey, and programmes to support parents with each developmental milestone for their child.
“Hopefully you can come here and whatever situation or service that you're looking to get involved with is here in the Hub or, if not, within the wider Family Hub community. It's a little bit of a one stop shop!”
How does the Smethwick Family Hub support the local community?
“Smethwick as a community is really diverse and always has been, but on the whole, it’s also one of the UK’s most deprived areas.
“The work that we do is around supporting parent-infant relationships and parental mental health and well-being to make sure that there’s a strong foundation for those children and parents.
“Our job is to make sure that parents have got that support at the earliest opportunity, which will only help them strengthen their parenting skills, build that bonded relationship with their children, and help them to nourish and support their children. So, if we can make sure that bond is as strong as possible at the earliest chance, then we're making sure that those children can go on and develop in a really positive way.”
Our job is to make sure that parents have got that support at the earliest opportunity, which will only help them strengthen their parenting skills, build that bonded relationship with their children, and help them to nourish and support their children.
Sophia
Family Support Coordinator, Smethwick Family Hub
What support do Family Hubs provide?
“Some [parents] will come in because they need help – they've hit a pressure point where they can no longer cope and they're seeking some help to manage that pressure.
“Some parents come just for the social element and getting out of the house. And then while they're here, they're building relationships, they're seeing consistent familiar faces, which helps them to then maybe give up a little bit of what's going on behind closed doors for them and explain a little bit about what struggles they're facing.
“Parents might not necessarily feel comfortable to share that on their first time or second time here. Sometimes they're coming in for about six months before they’re comfortable enough to share what’s actually going on for them.
“We had one mum who was coming to our Baby Club quite regularly and unfortunately there was a situation with her partner at the time so the colleague who was running our Baby Club referred her for some support.
“Initially, she just told us that her mood was quite low but after another couple of visits, she disclosed that actually there was domestic abuse happening. After that, we were able to support her to get into a refuge and make sure that her and her children were safe.
“She'd told us that she’d been in this situation before with her previous partner, but this time she was just really grateful that the Hub was here to help.
“Yes, she'd just been coming for the Baby Club initially but on one particular day, it just got a little bit too much. And even though she didn't tell us at first that there were things going on, within three visits she felt comfortable enough to say, this is my situation, I no longer want to be in it, and need some help.
“And we were able to help that mum, help those children, get them to a safe and secure place and just change the whole situation around. It just goes to show that having an open door is what some people really need.”
What are some of the biggest issues you support families with?
“Families are really isolated. Lots of families that live within our community don't have extended family members and don't have lots of friends around to support them. Getting them out to socialise by coming in here to the Family Hub helps them build that sort of community.
“Finances are another big pressure, which is probably true for families up and down the country at the moment. We have lots of families who just don't have extra money to be able to take their children to the seaside or to the cinema or do other fun activities that need to be paid for.
“So again, our service is here to help bridge that gap, gets them out of the house, gives them a different sort of environment to be in without the pressure of cleaning up. It's just a time for everyone to come have fun, relax, and have some time not thinking about all the other stresses of life.”
What do more people need to know about Family Hubs?
“That we’re here and we’re here to help.
“For lots of the parents and families that we're working with, there are many who are suffering with low level mental health issues and lots of parents feel quite isolated in that. It can feel like nobody else can understand what that’s like or that nobody else is going through that experience.
“I want parents to know you’re not alone in some of the struggles that you have and in some of the dreams and ambitions that you've got for your children.
I want parents to know you’re not alone in some of the struggles that you have and in some of the dreams and ambitions that you've got for your children.
Sophia
Family Support Coordinator, Smethwick Family Hub
“When parents come together at our Family Hub, they have those conversations, build those friendships, their children play together, they grow together.
“You come to understand that everybody's struggling at some point.
“And it's perfectly OK. It doesn't make you a terrible parent. It makes you a parent.
“That's why we’re here – to help you through those struggles.”
I’m looking for support with being a parent or carer
Family life can be full of moments that make you smile, as well as times that test your patience or leave you searching for answers. That’s why we’ve created our Family Space, a place for parents and carers like you to get advice and guidance from our specialists.
You’ll find plenty of practical information to help you and your family thrive. If you need more support we can guide you to people and organisations that can make your family life a little bit easier.
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Our Family Hubs Offer
We work alongside local authorities, health bodies, other organisations and communities to deliver Family Hubs to help children have the best start in life. Whether in-person or online, our hubs are co-designed with the children and families who use them to make sure services are relevant, inclusive, and effective.