We are Family Gateway
Creating lasting and unique change in the lives of individuals, families and communities across
the North East.
The Barefoot Professional Model
The Barefoot Professional Model provides people the security, resources and coaching to work in community spaces that facilitate unique, positive and lasting social and personal change in their own communities. Our staff look like, sound like, and act like the people they support. They are fantastic role models, and proof that you can achieve a job that is exciting and rewarding even when you’ve taken an unusual path to get there. A Barefoot Professional is someone who uses their invaluable lived experience to demonstrate to their community that it is possible to thrive in life not despite your experiences, but because of them.
- Qualified by experience - We create impact in ways that other organisations struggle to because we’ve lived the experiences of the people we support. Our stories are more than enough to make us into skilled and trustworthy professionals.
- Self determination - Our model differs from other Lived Experience models because there is no set blueprint for the success of the people involved. We do not mark success by how well we mold someone into a pre-existing image, but by how well we allow them to create their own vision for their life.
- Check and Challenge - We equip people with the power to stand up for themselves and their communities. A healthy amount of check and challenge is essential to ensure our organisation is always doing what’s best for everyone.
- Uniqueness of place and person - Our model works because people see themselves in us. Challenges and experience vary hugely by region and by place, and we understand that a Barefoot Professional from North Tyneside wouldn’t be as effective in North Yorkshire.
- Progression and ambition - We encourage our Barefoot Professionals to think big and always be looking ahead to the future. Our organisation is a safe place to hone the skills and knowledge needed to move into dream jobs in the charity sector and beyond.
Our work
We work to improve the lives of people across Howdon, North Tyneside and the wider North East.
We do this in two ways: providing activities and resources to residents at Howdon Community Hub, and offering direct support services to help people overcome issues affecting their lives.
We’re proud to call Howdon home, and our community hub is the base for all of our work. Having a place where people can access our full range of services allows us to help people in whatever way they need. Working this way means that we can provide engaging and community focused activities to people who need them, and this can be a foot in the door in situations where people need to take that further with intervention from our family services team.
We put our community members at the heart of everything we do. Our work can only be successful if it helps them create the life they want for themselves. When we provide support in people’s homes, we make sure that the end goals are always set by them.
The timetable at our community hub is created as a result of our annual #HaveYourSayNE survey, which allows the community to tell us exactly what they need from us.
Latest news from Family Gateway
Howdon Youth Zone: A Young Person’s Perspective
Building a brighter future Hi, I’m Kieran and I’m doing my work placement here at Howdon Community Hub and I’m excited to share my overview of what Howdon Youth Zone is and what I think it provides for our community. In this article, I will go over what is offered in these Youth Zone sessions…
Tyneside Shipbuilding: HMS Chatham
Above photo, dated 11.11.1989, is copyright of Dennis Maccoy Tyneside Shipbuilding: HMS Chatham In the second article in our Tyneside Shipbuilding series, we begin to look at the ships that lend their names to rooms at Howdon Community Hub. The Hub’s Chatham room is used today as The Family Room in which families can have…
Family Gateway Annual Reports and Accounts 2024
Family Gateway is proud to present our Annual Report, including financial accounts for the year ending 31st March 2024. This report represents a year of growth, progression and learning for all of our staff. This has led to a year of improved engagement and impact in our communities. As we enter the second year of…
Tyneside Shipbuilding: Howdon’s Ships and the World
The Turbinia, once the fastest ship in to world, dry docked on the Tyne after being damaged in a collision while she was moored at Wallsend (Courtesy of Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums) What follows is the beginning of a group of articles to be presented by Family Gateway devoted to our local history,…
Family Gateway 2023-2026 Strategic Plan
We are excited to announce the release of our Strategic Plan 2023-2026, a roadmap that will guide our charity’s mission and impact over the next three years. Developed in collaboration with our community partners and key stakeholders, this plan outlines our strategic priorities, including enhancing service delivery, fostering partnerships, and increasing our advocacy efforts. This…
Family Gateway 2023 Annual Report and Accounts
With thanks to our auditors, Azets, we are proud to publish Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending March 2023. This report represents both the culmination of a period intense work and self reflection, and a signal of all the work we will embark upon in the coming year to improve prospects for every…