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Working with families in Tower Hamlets: an evaluation of the Family Welfare Association’s Family Support Services
Author(s) -
Gray Benjamin
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
health and social care in the community
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.984
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1365-2524
pISSN - 0966-0410
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2524.2002.00347.x
Subject(s) - poverty , welfare , social welfare , domestic violence , government (linguistics) , overcrowding , ethnic group , social work , work (physics) , sociology , medicine , economic growth , poison control , political science , environmental health , suicide prevention , engineering , economics , law , mechanical engineering , linguistics , philosophy , anthropology
This paper describes an evaluation carried out by South Bank University of the work of the Family Welfare Association’s (FWA’s) Family Support Services (FSSs) in Tower Hamlets, London. Tower Hamlets is a multi‐racial area in east London that, according to the 1991 census, has high levels of poverty, overcrowding and unemployment. Increasing poverty and social exclusion, which further entrench inequalities in health, are reported by sources such as government, health and social services and research as requiring innovative local responses to meet pressing welfare needs. The evaluation reported here examined three projects: Family Support, Building Bridges and Quality Protects – these are referred to collectively as FSSs. The evaluation shows that FSSs are innovative services that demonstrate effective ways of working with vulnerable families affected by experiences of racism, bullying, mental health difficulties, domestic violence or child abuse. In common with other successful initiatives in the UK and abroad, FSSs are aimed to be non‐stigmatising, non‐intrusive and responsive to the ethnicity, views and specific needs of families. This paper focuses on the participatory work of FSSs with families to illustrate effective methods of quality support, detail outcomes, and draw lessons for policy and practice.