YOUNG FAMILIES living in deprived areas across South West Fife are being offered a valuable new resource to support them through difficult periods.

The South West Fife Family Nurture Hub has been in development for a year and is now open and taking referrals.

The hub is made up of a partnership of five voluntary sector agencies – Fife Gingerbread, which works with lone and teen parent families, Scottish Pre-School Play Association, Aberlour, which works with children and families with disabilities, Home Start and Barnardo’s.

Project manager Trish O’Brien believes that a variety of different services working together can provide more complete support to vulnerable families with children under four years old.

“There are five different groups that bring their own strengths and teams which provides additional value,” she explained.

“We can get everyone in the same room together with the family and they can share their own expertise.

“It’s for families that aren’t engaging with these services already or have complex needs which require more than one area of support.

“The idea is to make groups more accessible and utilise what is already there in the community, to pull services together and enhance communication.

“An example is a midwife working with a young mum and baby to a certain stage. After that, the support doesn’t continue but nothing is there to connect to the next stage. What we provide is a smooth referral pathway, working with the family for early intervention and prevention to support what they need.” The service will be offered from Aberdour to Kincardine but will focus on areas in Inverkeithing, High Valleyfield, Oakley and Rosyth which are ranked higher in the Scottish Multiple Deprivation Index.

After a family is referred, members from the services go to visit them, usually at their home, and offer support and advice.

For more information contact trish@fifevoluntaryac tion.org.uk