A charity that has worked tirelessly for Hampshire’s children and young people for a decade has become the latest victim of a national squeeze on funding. Hampshire Families, which is based in Winchester but has project workers across the county, will be closing its doors on March 31, with the loss of 10 jobs after the organisation’s financial support from Hampshire County Council was discontinued.

Chair of the Trustees Alun Parry‐Jones said: “We take this decision extremely reluctantly. The discontinuance of our services will be a loss to many communities in Hampshire. However the Trustees could see no way of continuing without the financial support of the County Council.” Hampshire Families CEO Cedric Riley said: “Funding is always a problem for the voluntary sector. We have managed to deliver some excellent projects and ideas over the last few years on a very tight budget. However this latest County Council decision means the end of the road. We will be finishing our current contracts but have no alternative to closing down our local projects and suspending the popular web site and database of local services.”

In the last financial year the organisation was involved in over 100 projects benefitting more than 4,000 people and worked closely with extended services, schools and youth clubs. Project workers also supported Phase 2 Children’s Centres sharing their wealth of local knowledge and information with the new managers. Over the years the Charity has carried out a variety of consultations, including several for the County Council, hosted network meetings enabling professionals to meet and share information, helped highlight gaps in services and produced more than 260,000 informative newsletters a year which were distributed to parents and carers through primary schools.

Hampshire Families’ extensive database of services has been accessed by thousands of organisations and families and its regularly published regional directories have always proved popular with professionals and local residents alike.

After a cut in its grant last year, trustees and management re‐organised the charity, cut the workforce and re‐launched itself as a project‐based organisation whilst still offering a comprehensive website along with an innovative online magazine offering reports and features on issues affecting both professionals and families in Hampshire. Mr Parry‐Jones concluded: “I should like to thank the staff of Hampshire Families past and present for their hard work and dedication. We had come up with some really good project ideas but unfortunately, as so many voluntary and Third Sector organisations are finding, there are too many worthy causes for too small a funding pot.” CONTACT: Cedric Riley (01962) 892584/ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it