Project to help Improve the lives of troubled families unveiled by the Hampshire Senate (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Project to help Improve the lives of troubled families unveiled by the Hampshire Senate

7:00am Tuesday 26th February 2013 in Local By Emily Roberts, Chief Reporter

IMPROVING the lives of troubled families in Hampshire will be the focus of a multi-agency scheme.

Members of the Hampshire Senate gave their backing to a project which aims to improve the lives of 1,600 vulnerable families in the county by 2015, as part of the Government’s Troubled Families Programme.

The aims of the scheme are to tackle unemployment, increase school attendance and reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.

Families classed as ‘troubled’ are those where no adult in the family works, children do not regularly attend school, and family members are involved in crime and anti-social behaviour.

It is estimated that these families cost the public on average £75,000 each per year, and often have a detrimental effect in their local community.

Hampshire Senate agreed to make the scheme a priority and to commit its member organisations to working in a more joined-up and co-ordinated way.

Councillor Ken Thornber, chairman of the Hampshire Senate, said: “No one organisa-tion alone can provide all the help that these families need.

“By working together more effectively with our partners within the Hampshire Senate and our schools, we can help to change the lives of these very troubled families and improve their futures in our communities.

“It is recognised that there will be challenges along the way, particularly when it comes to engaging with families who have resisted offers of early help in the past.

“However, it is crucial that we provide effective, sustained and relentless leadership in this difficult area.

“With the right commitment and a focused collaborative approach, based on early and co-ordinated intervention, we will be much better positioned to improve the lives of the families involved, and the communities that they call home.

“By engaging families who need early help to avoid escalating problems, this will help to reduce the need for other agencies to assist at a later date to address more serious prob-lems. This will also mean that we can help avoid significant costs to public funds in the longer term.”