Family Champion - Encouraging Families To Work

The governments new public health White Paper, Healthy Lives, Healthy People, emphasises the many benefits of being in work.  The paper draws on evidence reported in Dame Carol Black's Review of the Health of Britain's Working Age Population which states that being in work leads to better physical and mental health and could save the the UK up to £100 billion a year by reducing working age ill health.  Black's review also highlights that being in work is in general good for health and self esteem, and can help alleviate poverty.  In an effort to encourage and help people into work, central and local government will support economic growth and make it pay to work through reforming the welfare system.

One of the initiatives that has been introduced by the government is the "Family Champion".  The idea behind the Family Champion is to work with troubled families with long-term unemployment, and help ease them back into the working sphere.  Some of the families will never have worked before.  The work of the Family Champion will not only consist of providing support and sign posting services, but also help to change the culture and mind set of families. 

Emma Harrison of A4e was today appointed "family champion" by the government.  In an interview on the Radio 4 Today programme Harrison claimed that she wanted to turn all families with long term unemployment into "working families".  Someone will be appointed to work with each familiy and will be referred to as "Emmas" by the government.  Harrison stated that she has already begun working with six families, of which one had never ever worked.  However, within a day the family were participating in voluntary work.  This Harrison believed, helped them gain pride, confidence and a sense of purpose.