Family and Health Services

HEALTH AND SOCIAL WELFARE SERVICE
This service provides one to one advocacy, advice, guidance and support with benefits, housing, debt, finance, immigration, work related and personal issues for people from a range of black and minority ethnic
Communities.

Staff signpost and assist clients to access other services. Cantonese, Mandarin, Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, and English languages are spoken by staff and support can also be obtained for those who speak other languages

Usual working hours - Monday to Friday - 9am to 5pm

FAMILY SUPPORT AND OUTREACH PROJECT
This service offers one to one support to Black and Minority Ethnic children and their families through a range of interventions including one to one parenting support, activities to promote social inclusion for young people, support for families where racial incidents have been reported and Cultural Awareness raising in schools.

Parents and Young People are referred into the service or can self refer. Clients can be supported at Team around the Child and other meetings and attending agencies such as CAB, solicitors or court. It is hoped that the service will be developed to reach more BME communities over the next year.

Usual working hours - Monday to Friday - 9am to 5pm

PARENTING COURSES
The parenting course, Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities is delivered in partnership with YISP and runs one day each week for two hours during the school term. Parents develop self esteem and confidence, learning new skills which help them to build better relationships with their children and deal more effectively with
behavioural issues that might occur.

Parents are referred onto the course or might self refer. They are encouraged to continue to develop by accessing other services.

Usually on Tuesday - 10am to 12 noon

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MENTAL HEALTH WORKER
The PCT has based a Community Development Worker at the WMO who
provides some outreach to the BME Community to interact with groups and identify mental health issues. The worker is the main contact for the BME Communities where they have concerns about mental health issues.

Usual working hours - one day a week - Friday - 9am to 5pm (must make an appointment before coming to the centre)

SMOKING CESSATION
In collaboration with the PCT, weekly “Quit Smoking” sessions are held at W.M.O.

WIRRAL ETHNIC HEALTH ADVISORY GROUP
The Group was first formed in 2000 and In February 2001, Wirral Ethnic Health Advisory Group (WEHAG) agreed to develop a Health Strategy. The group prepared and agreed standards of care and monitoring
arrangements to underpin the strategy which was then signed by all the partners before its launch. The 2003 Strategy was launched in the presence of Lord Chan and the mayor of Wirral on June 3rd 2003.
WEHAG meets bi-monthly to monitor progress of the Strategy, share best practice and disseminate information.
Mental Health and Healthy Eating Strategies have also been developed by the Group.
As part of WEHAG’s work a resource file was also produced in 2003 to support workers in statutory and voluntary sectors working with people from the BME community, to provide information about cultural issues and resources available. This has since been updated and was re-launched on 23rd January 2009.
A copy of the Resource File is available by Contacting e-mailing info@wehag.org.uk
The members of the group meet bi-monthly but the Core Group meets on alternative months.

HEALTH LINK PROJECT
Chinese and Asian Health link workers provide health related support to women and also some men from the Chinese and Asian Communities on Wirral. They will offer advice and support in accessing health care and also accompany people to hospital or GP appointments where there may be language difficulties. Every month Dr Kidd holds a Well Person Clinic at the WMO which coincides with the Chinese Luncheon Club. Health checks, including blood pressure and weight measurement are provided. Initially this was just accessed by Chinese women attending the lunch and some Asian women, but can now accessed by people from any of the BME community
Usual working hours - Monday to Friday - 9am to 5pm (must make an appointment before coming to the centre)