Space for separated families in Jersey closes for final time after 23 years of helping children

Milli's Separated Family Centre in Jersey closed its doors for the final time on Sunday 25 June after 23 years of helping children and their parents.

In a Facebook post, it wrote that it had been a "highly successful facility" that helped islanders "sometimes in extremely difficult and challenging situations."

It also said that children had always been at the heart of everything that it did, while parents had been helped to find confidence in each other as they managed the "emotional journey" of separation.

All of the charity's volunteers, past and present, were commended for providing "amazing support" over the years.

It was first announced in January this year that the centre was closing - at the time, it blamed new regulations brought in by the Jersey Care Commission that it said made their services "impossible."

A statement read: "The regulations enforce an operating structure upon us that effectively makes us a government service disrupting the separation and independence that is necessary for the operation of a child contact centre."

However, in a bid to save the space, the charity agreed to trial the new rules in March.

But by May, it announced it would close during the summer, saying it was struggling to recruit volunteers because of the new regulations.

To replace the service, Centrepoint will start a new child contact centre from Sunday 2 July to support the families who used Milli's every week.

The sessions will take place the charity's base at La Pouquelaye for the next 12 months, allowing separated families to come together in a safe, supervised environment.

It's been given £81,000 of government funding to establish the service, but says it'll remain independent from Jersey's government.

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