Thank you for visiting Our Hubs BD! We’re always looking for ways to improve your experience and better serve our community. Whether you’re a local resident or a first-time visitor, your feedback is incredibly valuable to us. This short survey will help us understand what’s working well on the website, what could be improved, and what new features or content you’d like to see. It only takes a few minutes, and your responses will directly shape the future of Our Hubs BD. Let’s build a better hub—together.

Protect yourself and those around you—get vaccinated today! Vaccinations are a vital part of everyday life in the UK, helping to save millions of lives globally. Thanks to vaccines, diseases like smallpox and polio—once deadly—have now disappeared or are extremely rare. While most vaccines are given in childhood, adults also have access to important routine immunisations. If eligible, you may be offered vaccinations for shingles, RSV, or pneumococcal disease, along with annual seasonal flu and Covid-19 vaccines. Spring Covid-19 Vaccination: Stay Protected By springtime, your protection from previous Covid-19 vaccinations begins to decline. Covid-19 remains dangerous, especially for older adults and those with weakened immune systems. To reduce the risk of severe illness and hospitalisation, an additional Covid-19 vaccine is available this spring for: ✅ Adults aged 75 years and over✅ Residents in a care home for older adults ✅ Adults with a weakened immune system How to Get Your Spring Covid-19 Vaccination If eligible, you can book your vaccine through: 💉 Your local pharmacy—many offer walk-in services with no appointment needed. Find one near you at https://www.nhs.uk/covid-walk-in. 📲 The NHS App or online at https://www.nhs.uk/bookcovid. 📞 Calling 119 for assistance. Stay Informed For more details about vaccinations, visit: https://www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination or https://northeastlondon.icb.nhs.uk/vaccinations/ 

Last Wednesday (23 April) saw the launch of the new Our Hubs BD website, a central place for residents to find information, local events, activities, and support services. The website offers tailored support to meet diverse needs, featuring: Hubs: Welcoming spaces providing information, advice, support, events, and activities. Help for families: Resources for parenting, infant feeding, and engaging activities. Help for everyone: Guidance for all ages to meet personal needs. Events: Discover daily and monthly events across the borough. Join In: Volunteer, participate in community projects, and share feedback. News and Celebrations: Stay updated on what’s new and exciting. Visit Our Hubs BD today to explore the wealth of resources available to you.

We are excited to announce the launch of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham’s Family Hub Toy Library! This initiative aims to support families by providing access to a wide range of toys that can aid in children’s development and learning. The toy library is designed to engage families, offering them resources to enhance playtime and strengthen family bonds.  The first toy library opens at the Barking Learning Centre Community & Family Hub in April. This is the first of many, with additional toy libraries set to open in the coming months at various family hub sites, including Dagenham Learning Centre Community & Family Hub and Marks Gate Community & Family Hub. The toy library will be available after the PEEP group activities in each of the family hubs, providing a seamless transition from group learning to individual play. We look forward to seeing the positive impact this initiative will have on our community and the joy it will bring to families. 

On 27 March 2025, the Afro-Caribbean Health Show at Barking Learning Centre welcomed over 300 attendees, creating a vibrant and supportive space for African and Caribbean communities across the Borough. Led by Parissé Devaux and Erica Deti, this integrated, personalised neighbourhood pop-up clinic brought together a diverse range of services to empower and uplift residents. Health and well-being took centre stage, with NELFT NHS Foundation Trust professionals offering expertise in mental health, long-term conditions, and health visiting. Meanwhile, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust specialists provided support in haematology and sexual health. Beyond healthcare, local authority teams offered essential guidance on housing, financial support, social prescribing, and smoking cessation, ensuring a holistic approach to well-being. Community organisations played a vital role, delivering services for children, young people, and adults, alongside dental care, hair cutting, massage therapy, and more. To celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the event, attendees also enjoyed delicious Afro-Caribbean cuisine, adding warmth and tradition to a day dedicated to connection and care. This gathering exemplified the power of community, breaking barriers and fostering inclusivity—proving that when we come together, health and culture thrive side by side.

On Wednesday 12 March, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in partnership with award-winning charity ShowerBox and Barking Churches Unite to celebrate the opening of ShowerBox Barking. This ground-breaking project is the UK’s first permanent purpose-built facility located at Barking Leaming Centre and offers hot showers, underwear, respite and refreshments for people in the borough experiencing homelessness. Providing access to sanitation for individual and community health with facilities like ShowerBox Barking can play a vital contribution in narrowing the gap in health outcomes for people experiencing homelessness. Barking and Dagenham, like other areas of London, has seen an increase in the number people rough sleeping (64% increase from 20/21 to 22/23) and poor sanitation can have a significant impact on individual and community health. Poor sanitation can make people more at risk of infectious disease, with rough sleepers 24 times more likely to contract tuberculosis Lower life expectancy, the average age of death for rough sleepers is 43 for malles and 45 for females, and it causes including preventable hygiene related issues such as sepsis Increased demand on A&E services with rough sleepers attending services for conditions such as cellulitis.   The partnership between ShowerBox, Barking Churches Unite and the Council and development of ShowerBox Barking originated from their participation in “Pop Up” events across the borough to support people experiencing homelessness, where guests could see a doctor with no prior appointment, and also receive food, clothes, a haircut and a shower. Most people surveyed at the events said they attended for free food and showers, as well as to see a doctor. Thanks to funding from the Barking and Dagenham Health Inequalities Programme (from NHS North East London and determined by the Barking and Dagenham Place-based Partnership), LBBD and generous in-kind support from ShowerBox, Barking Churches Unite and their supporters and volunteers, ShowerBox Barking has been opened at the Barking Learning Centre, where the pop-up’s took place. Cllr Maureen Worby, Cabinet Member for Adults Social Care and Health Integration, who has spearheaded this new facility said at the launch event: “Today is a dream come true for me. The importance of providing access to sanitation can not be underestimated, not just for improving personal hygiene and preventing disease, but in terms of helping to improve the life chances of some of our most disadvantaged residents. “More often than not, people experiencing homelessness are not seen or valued and by offering them something as simple as a hot shower, that we all take for granted, it will help give them the respect and dignity they deserve. “I am so proud of what we as a partnership of health, community and voluntary sector and the local authority have achieved with this project”. Sarah Lamptey MBE, Founder and Chief Executive, ShowerBox said: “The launch of ShowerBox Barking, a partnership between ShowerBox, the London borough of Barking and Dagenham and Barking Churches is momentous for our charity. It’s the culmination of many years of work across our growing team, to support and lighten the loads of the lives of our guests, those who experience the hardship of homelessness every day. “This partnership is a milestone for ShowerBox and a wonderful moment for me personally, as since the start of 2018 I’ve had the dream and focus to support individuals without access to hygiene facilities. A simple way to make a great difference in people’s lives, to their physical health, mental

Thrive Together – Better Health for You and Your Baby brought together 700 people at the BLC, creating a vibrant hub of support for women and their families. The event, designed to empower new and expectant mothers—as well as those planning their pregnancy journey—featured an extensive range of services and expert-led sessions.