The Fermanagh Early Intervention Family Support Hub, in association with Action for Children and Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership, is a multi agency network of organisations that either provide early intervention services or work with families who need early intervention services.

During the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, the local hub continued to operate, signposting families who required support or advice to the services most appropriate to their specific needs.

“At a time like this, this is where you really see the strength of the Hub partners,” said Séana Connor, Fermanagh Family Support Hub Co-ordinator, who works alongside Karen McHugh, Omagh Family Support Hub Co-ordinator.

“It’s unprecedented times for everybody but what I can say is all services remain open, none of them closed. They’ve been following the Public Health Agency guidelines. There’s no home visits happening, but they are getting a lot of support online and over the phone. The need is still there, the need hasn’t gone away.”

Séana explained that due to the impact of the pandemic, the Hub has seen an increase in families who are facing poverty throughout Fermanagh and Tyrone: “That may be that people are relying more on local foodbanks, looking for heating, whatever that has been. Poverty would have always been an issue but families who were maybe self-employed and didn’t meet the furlough and things like that. It was working families that were coming through, needing support.”

Lisa McGarvey, Practice Team Leader added: “Our main concern coming out of lockdown is those families who will need support, just things like trying to get children back into school, anxiety for parents and the children.”

The aim of the Hub is to ensure that families in need of support can choose the right help from the right service at the right time.

The Fermanagh Early Intervention Family Support Hub are partnered with many local organisations including The ARC Healthy Living Centre, Fermanagh Women’s Aid and Oak Healthy Living Centre, to name only a few.

“We are constantly trying to find out if new services come in or staff change, we’re constantly building relationships up with them so we’re supporting not only the families but the new service providers, inviting them in to help them be able to support families,” said Séana, adding: “We also sometimes organise training between all our hub partners because you can imagine the amount of organisations that work together in partnership. You can imagine the amount of knowledge that they have and expertise.”

Séana encourages anyone who requires advice or support not to be afraid to pick up the phone and give the hub a call: “There’s nothing so awful or so small that you can’t pick up the phone and get some advice for.

She continued: “We can certainly support them if we are the right people and if not, we can signpost the family on to the right services to get the right support.”

If you feel you would like support from the Fermanagh Early Intervention Family Support Hub, you can contact the Hub directly on 028 6632 4181 and they will arrange to discuss how you can be signposted to a service that best meets the needs of your family. The beauty of the hub is it’s voluntary so families choose to engage so if they self-refer and someone has given them information about services they can avail of, it’s up to them then if they choose to engage in those. We can help them refer on to those services but ultimately it’s their choice. The family, the parents and the young people have control over whether they want to engage in the services. There’ll be no pressure,” Lisa concluded.