New community support hub opens its doors in city

A new drop-in centre that aims to bring jobs, skills, health and community support under one roof is opening its doors on Friday.

The Peterborough Citizen Hub, in Bridge Street, hopes people living and working in the city will help shape the future of the service.

The site, which will be open Monday to Friday from 10:00 and 16:00, will be the third Citizen Hub in the UK, with others in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, and Wimbledon, London.

Lewis Vernum, a director of the hub, said: "Citizen Hub gives [residents] that place - an open door on Bridge Street for anyone who wants to give something or needs something."

Vernum added: "I spent years learning the hard way that self-sufficiency is a myth without community.

"Peterborough has far more skill and goodwill than it gets credit for. Most of it goes untapped because people don't know where to plug in."

Local employers and those involved in support services are expected to be at the opening event.

Alex Hughes, founder of Citizen Hub Network, said: "Peterborough isn't short of support. Too much of what people need sits in separate buildings, behind separate forms and you have to already know where to look.

"Citizen Hub puts it in one place and asks people what they need before anyone decides for them. Belonging, taking part and giving something back - that's what being a citizen means to us."

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