Familiehuis-West started with a well-attended open house

Young parents can come here with all their parenting questions, for care and support and a listening ear. They can participate in activities there.

Councilor Harmjan Vedder (equality of opportunity, youth and family) welcomed the visitors. He is enthusiastic about the Family House: “We want the children in our city to grow up happily. The Familiehuis-West is a hopeful place that can contribute to this. I am very proud of what has already been achieved. By working better together, one place is created where families can go for meetings, questions about parenting, help and care.”

Various partners participating in the Familiehuis-West presented themselves during the open house. These include the health organization GGD Twente, Alifa, Neighborhood Teams Enschede, Humankind childcare, Humanitas, Midwifery Practice Enschede and the municipality of Enschede. Together with parents, volunteers and professionals, they put their shoulders to the wheel of realizing the Family House.

Play cover and consultation hours

For example, children from 6 months to 2.5 years can visit the Humankind Play Cover several times a week. There is a weekly meeting group for young parents led by Alifa. Here, young parents exchange tips and experiences, while the children can play in the Play Cover. Family home staff are available several mornings a week to answer questions. The GGD has recently started holding consultation hours in the Family House. The GGD starts with a Turkish/Arabic/Syrian-speaking meeting group on Monday morning. After the autumn holidays, Alifa will start the training “Stronger from divorce” on Monday evening.

Project leader Wilma Meere of the Familiehuis-West: “With the Family House we want to help parents and children get a good, healthy start. We all need help from someone else sometimes. By connecting dreams, ambitions and idealism, we build the Familiehuis-West together with parents, volunteers and professionals.”

First Family Home in the Netherlands

As far as we know, it is the first Family House in the Netherlands. The Family House is inspired by the Family Houses in Sweden. During a working visit to Scandinavia a few years ago, a number of participating parties were introduced to this concept. They saw how successful the collaboration is there; organizations are “together more than the sum of their parts”.

In the Family House, the lines between professionals are short and other parents are close by. This way, young parents and their children receive the fastest and best support. The period surrounding birth is very important for the chances the child will have later. If the first years of life go well, the chance of problems later is smaller. Enschede is firmly committed to a promising start for children. With a 10-year plan for equal opportunities, which was adopted by the municipal council in 2023, the municipal council wants to realize a break in the trend; it wants to leave the top of lists of municipalities with a low socio-economic status. The establishment of a Family Home fits in with these plans.