Faith and Family Hubs

Background and context

Family Hubs support families with children aged 0-19 (or up to 25 if they have Special Educational Needs) and aim to be a ‘one stop shop’ where families can come to access holistic support; from infant feeding to toddler groups and housing to debt advice, in a combination of physical and digital means.

Bristol City Council opened 3 new Family Hubs in the summer of 2023 in Hartcliffe, Southmead and Wellspring Settlement.

Bristol Family Hubs in collaboration with the Good Faith Partnership are hosting this gathering to create better connections between Family Hubs and faith communities in Bristol; recognising that when we are better connected we are able to better support families.

Event Details & Aims

The event will bring together faith leaders and community representatives from across the city along with key Bristol Council professionals, in the form of a collaborative event with short presentations, activities and interactive discussions.

Aims of the event:

• increase awareness of what support is available for families - including understanding the vision of Family Hubs and the importance of Perinatal Infant Mental Health
• build connections and create dialogue around how faith communities and family hubs can work together to support children and families in Bristol (including addressing any obstacles or barriers to families accessing support)
• develop ongoing partnerships and test if there would be a benefit in developing a working group and/or a Faith & Family Hubs strategy

The feedback and discussions that come out of the event will help to shape the next steps for partnership working between Family Hubs and Faith Communities in Bristol.

Expectations of attendees

Our hope is that each attendee will come with an open mind, a willingness to engage in dialogue and a readiness to share their experience and insights in relation to families within their communities and what might be needed to better support them.

The One City approach is to bring an ‘ask’ and an ‘offer’. It would be helpful to consider whether your place of worship, group or community has an offer to family hubs (e.g toddler groups, Youth Clubs, use of a building to run activities, training courses etc) and what you would ask for in return (referrals, signposting etc).

Please feel free to bring any leaflets or materials about activities or groups you run as there will be space to display these.

Details

The event will be interactive and consist of short presentations, icebreakers and roundtable discussions. There will be regular breaks and lunch will be provided.

Tea and coffee will be served on arrival from 9.45am. The event will start at 10am.

For any questions about the event, please email Emma West at emma.west@goodfaith.org.uk