Greenwich families scheme receives nationwide praise

A Nationwide scheme to help turn around lives has received praise from the prime minister and a variety of other luminaries, with Greenwich's contribution coming in for particular praise.

The borough's Families First scheme, part of the Nationwide Troubled Families initiative, was singled out by the government as an excellent example of the work being done to give people a better life.

Recently secretary of state for communities and local government Eric Pickles and director general of the Government's Troubled Families Task Force, Louise Casey, visited Greenwich to meet local families who have transformed their lives after receiving the extra help and support they needed.

The scheme helps out people who have a range of issues, which may include involvement in youth crime or antisocial behaviour, high levels of truancy, health concerns, or an adult out of work, and works by providing each family with a dedicated keyworker who gives intensive support to the whole family and gets to the root causes of problems within the home.

The keyworkers also provide high levels of support, while setting challenging targets for family members to achieve in order to help them get their lives back on track.

They spend time in the family home and often work with families from early mornings into the evenings where needed, with the support then reduced as families gain the skills and confidence to maintain the achievements they have made and move forward without the need for extra help.

Greenwich was found to be well above the national average, with 21 per cent of the target group witnessing a successful intervention, thanks to a number of successes such as getting adults into training or employment, ending or reducing antisocial behaviour, getting children back into school, improving relationships between family members, and engaging families to use resources in their area.

Mr Pickles said it is a "huge achievement" to have turned so many communities around in such a short space of time.

He added: "These figures show that our no-nonsense and common sense approach is changing these families for the better and benefiting the whole community."

Published 20th September, 2013

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