Circle’s Haven project was mentioned in a report called Ties That Bind from Demos and Quarriers, which suggests that Councils should make an effort to help families stay in the same communities.
The researchers argue that this would allow people to rely on familial support networks and could save public money in the long-term.
This is what they said about Circle’s Haven project:
Like other projects in our study, Haven recognises the importance of brokering peer networks beyond the immediate family. Activities such as the ‘Pregnancy Cafe, for parents to be’, brings parents into the centre not just to learn about topics such as child nutrition, but also to meet one another.
Similarly, the centre’s preschool environmental education programme aims not just to help prepare children for school through literacy work, but also to bring local parents together. This drive to extend peer networks, so that parents are able to tap into more sources of informal mutual support beyond the centre, has also led to several parents taking up formal mentoring roles through the centre…