An event was held on October 19th at the Wellbeing Hub in Crown Buildings in Wrexham to mark the launch of the Prevention and Early Help Strategy and the new Wellbeing Portal, both for children, young people and their families.
The Prevention and Early Help Strategy is a multi-agency document, which brings together the key agencies in Wrexham who work with children, young people and their families and helps these agencies all focus on the same priorities; mental and physical health, speech and language, family relationships, poverty and engagement with education. The strategy focusses agencies on steps to help to improve things for the future.
The Wellbeing Portal gives access to information, advice and support for children, young people and families and all who work with them quickly and easily, and all in one place. This includes links to information on:
- Children with disabilities and additional needs
- Family support
- Young people support
- Income, benefits and debt
- Housing and tenancies
- Child development
- Mental well-being
- Positive relationships
- Safeguarding children
There’s also a useful section where people can make an online request for support and a contact number for anyone having difficulty in using the portal.
The portal was launched after extensive consultations with professionals and families who raised concerns around difficulties finding the right information. As a result, all information will now be accessible in one place rather than finding it through a variety of information providers and websites.
Support will be available through the Portal from a number of partner organisations who work in Wrexham supporting children and families with all the issues above.
The portal is currently live to support families affected by disability and as the project progresses the Portal will expand to include support with parenting, housing and tenancy support, education support and all the other areas needed for families to give children the best start in life.
Lead Member for Children’s Services Cllr Rob Walsh, who formally opened the event, said,
“This is a really exciting project. The wealth of advice, information and support that will be available in one place will make finding the right advice much quicker and easier and have a positive impact on users of these services.”
Over 60 people attended the event. The welcome was given by the mayor, Councillor Andy Williams and speakers from Betsi Cadwaldr University Health Board, The Association of Voluntary Organisations in Wrexham, Dynamic and different departments of the council stressed how important good preventative services are for families in Wrexham and how crucial it is that agencies all work well together.
A parent, Rebecca and a young person, David, both spoke movingly about their experiences of encountering challenges in their own lives and about how receiving support from preventative services had made all the difference to them in turning things around for the better.
If you would like to access the Wrexham Wellbeing Portal please visit here or to go direct to the request form
If you would like someone to come to your service to talk about the Wellbeing Portal, please contact the Wrexham Family Information Service on fis@wrexham.gov.uk
