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FIRST OF ITS KIND ‘ GOOD HELP HUB ’ LAUNCHES
A brand-new multi-service agency has opened to the public in Croxteth .
As part of the Government ’ s Partnership for People and Place Pilot , Liverpool was selected as one of 13 pilots nationally to change service delivery in local areas .
After a 12-week study and learn phase , the Hub finally opened its doors to the public on Monday , in Cobalt ’ s reception off Lower House Lane .
The Hub is a project that aims to transform day-to-day service delivery for residents , by building on community strengths and assets to deliver on the concepts underpinning the 20-minute neighbourhood model , to support all residents to live a ‘ good life ’ - whatever that means to each individual person .
Bringing together over twenty community partner agencies the Hub offers a ‘ one stop shop ’ for a variety of essential local services , so that residents can access support easily and quickly without travelling across the city .
The range of services on offer are :
• Monday : Employment and skills
• Tuesday : Housing and cost of living
• Wednesday : Health and wellbeing
• Thursday : Keeping safe
• Friday : Community and environment
The Hub is open from 9am-5pm and operates a late-night opening on Tuesday until 7pm . The Hub is available for all residents of Croxteth and members of the community are invited to ‘ drop into ’ the Hub at any time – no appointment is required .
The Hub is designed to have a ‘ coffee / tea first ; support later ethos ,’ staff will develop trusting relationships with the community , and
then provide them with support once they have gotten to know them well , different to any other service in the city .
The pilot is being evaluated by Ipsos Mori nationally and the Heseltine Institute locally and is set to end in March 2023 however , it is hoped that learning from the project will inform the city ’ s wider roll out of a new approach to neighbourhood living .
Deputy Mayor of Liverpool , Cllr Jane Corbett , Liverpool City Council ’ s Cabinet Member for Fairness and Tackling Poverty , for said : “ I ’ m delighted we ’ re launching the city ’ s first Help Hub in Croxteth with Cobalt Housing – this facility is going to help transform how essential services are provided and made more accessible for thousands of people . I ’ d like to thank everyone involved in making this happen , in particular Cobalt Housing for providing the Hub itself .
“ It is a great example of how collaborating with partners creates a smarter way of working to address the wide range of needs of an entire community . The lessons learnt from this project is going to inform how we strengthen our collaborations across the city on how we provide advice and access to support on health and wellbeing matters , as well as economic and welfare issues .”
Jeanette Green , Cobalt ’ s Head of Customers and Communities , said : “ Cobalt has spent a long time developing its partnership approach to tenant support , and we ’ re delighted to be launching this new initiative jointly with so many great organisations in North Liverpool .
“ We are all working together to the same goals and are always looking at innovative ways we can maximise our impact in our communities . This is a completely different approach to support , and we urge anyone in Croxteth to pop in to the hub over the coming weeks to see how we can help .” merseylife . com 15