Families 1sdt initiative yields positive results in Greenwich

The Royal Borough of Greenwich Council has announced plans to extend a scheme intended to provide intensive support to troubled families in the borough.

The Families 1st initiative aims to tackle school truancy, involvement in crime or antisocial behaviour and major barriers to employment and skills. 

According to the local authority, almost 450 families are taking part in the scheme, and initial indications appear to suggest that the scheme has helped to bring about improvement for many of these families.

It has been reported that, since participating in the initiative, school attendance has improved, anti-social behaviour has declined slightly, while others have received extra support to improve skills and find jobs.

Families 1st is part of a Nationwide campaign called the Troubled Families Programme. 

Those who take part will be given given dedicated key workers to work with everyone in the family who will help them to address the full range of problems which are holding them back from achieving their best.

Commenting on the scheme, Councillor Maureen O'Mara, Royal borough of Greenwich Cabinet Member for Community Wellbeing and Public Health said: "The Royal Borough recognises that providing access to a good education and employment and improving skills are the best ways to help families become secure and establish good role models for the next generation. 

"However, we also recognise that for some families even taking the first steps towards positive changes can simply seem like too much to take on. Therefore I congratulate the hundreds of local families who have fully engaged in our Families 1st scheme despite the many challenges they've faced along the way."

Greenwich Council also reported that the results of their initiative were much higher than those reported Nationwide.

Of the 790 local families identified for Families 1st, 446 have already been 'turned around'. 

The figures from the council show that this is 56 per cent of the families already helped to change their lives compared to the national average of 44.8 per cent or London average of 42.2 per cent. 

Published 25th September, 2014

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