Wigan Council and its partners have been awarded national funding for a pioneering project to support families who want to get to grips with their anti social behaviour and avoid losing their home.
The council, Wigan and Leigh Housing and the leading children’s charity Action for Children submitted an ambitious bid to tackle disruptive behaviour and provide intensive ‘family support’ to those who are prepared to turn their lives around.
The Family Intervention Project (FIP) Housing Challenge fund is a new initiative between the Government, housing providers and children’s services, aimed at offering a last chance saloon for families in social housing who are staring eviction in the face.
Highly skilled FIP staff provide an intensive package of help which gets to grips with the families’ problems, providing services like help with parenting, debt management and tenancy support.
Councillor Fred Walker, the council’s cabinet member for Wigan and Leigh Housing said: “Over the last two years we’ve toughened up our approach to anti social behaviour and increased enforcement action by over 8o%. It’s a top priority for our tenants.
“As part of our tougher approach, proposals are currently being considered by the council to make it more difficult for people involved in crime and anti social behaviour to get a council house.
“The Family Intervention Project provides a balance and in essence gives a last chance and help to households who want to become good citizens.“
The new money will pay for up to 12 families to be given a chance to turn their lives round. The project will focus on early intervention and use a twin track approach: families will be helped to address root causes of their behaviour whilst at the same time enforcement will be used when necessary to encourage change
Carol Iddon, Action for Children’s Operational Director in the North West, says: “Action for Children has extensive experience of working with some of the UK’s most challenging families through the FIP model – and we know the system works.
“Intensive challenge and support provided by FIPs helps families deal with the often complex issues underlying their disruptive behaviour, and has positive effects for both the family and the community as a whole.”
The FIP model was based on a number of projects first trialled by Action for Children and Dundee City Council then expanded as part of the Government’s Respect Programme.
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