The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry visit newly established Royal Foundation Support4Grenfell Community Hub providing bereavement and emotional support to the Grenfell Tower community
Kensington
Tuesday 5th September, 2017
The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry has established Support4Grenfell Community Hub in north Kensington, to provide additional mental health resources for the children, young people and families affected by the Grenfell fire. Their Royal Highnesses hold links with many of the organisations involved in supporting the community and will visit the hub on Tuesday, 5th September.
While many survivors of the fire are dealing with serious physical injuries, the emotional impact for many families, children and young people has been very serious as well. The Royal Foundation has worked with local leaders, experts in the field, Heads Together partners, and those already providing support in the local community to help to ensure that any additional response is adequately resourced and coordinated. The need for a central coordination space for this activity was identified and The Royal Foundation signed the lease for the facility in July. The hub will provide a dedicated space for various agencies and community groups to continue working collaboratively, reach out to other statutory and voluntary organisations, hold meetings and organise counselling and supervision. There is also space for children and families to come in and speak to the organisations represented there if they need a safe space to talk.
During their visit, Their Royal Highnesses will meet representatives from organisations who are leading the emotional support response at the hub, including Place2Be, Child Bereavement UK, The Art Room and Winston’s Wish. As many of these charities have been working with local partners, schools, community groups within Kensington for some years, it has allowed them to react quickly to scale up their local support in response to the tragedy, as others have done.
Their Royal Highnesses will also meet with members of the Grenfell community and hear from school head teachers, The Clement James Centre, and the Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre Al-Manaar, who are working with the charities to ensure there is specialist long-term support in place to work with the community as it moves forward.
Their Royal Highnesses will then visit the Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre Al-Manaar, to meet members of the local community and see the work that is continuing there. Al-Manaar was one of the first centres that responded to the tragedy on the night of 14th June 2017 by co-ordinating volunteers, food, water, shelter and counselling. It continues to work with the families and residents affected to provide counselling, advice and a safe space.
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