The Big Lottery Fund is giving communities and voluntary organisations a reason to celebrate this New Year as they receive National Lottery grants to support people across the West Midlands region. £2,680, 932 will be shared between 67 groups, including projects in Shropshire, Birmingham, Warwickshire and Staffordshire, which aim to help improve local communities and the lives of people most in need.
Below are a few examples of some of the projects and a full list of today’s awards is attached.
Radnorshire Healthy Friendships in South Shropshire is awarded £257,032 for a project tosupport vulnerable people in the Bridgnorth, Craven, Bishops Castle and Ludlow areas of South Shropshire who are experiencing mental and emotional distress along with their carers.
The scheme will include memory cafes, mental health sessions, and short-term assistance to access appointments, such as health, benefits, finance and advocacy. It will also offer a range of cognitive exercises as well as physical exercises including Boccia and New Age Kurling, along with seated fitness sessions and other activities.
Birmingham Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Health and Wellbeing centre receives £302,680 for aproject toexpand activities and servicesto address health inequalities and promote cohesion within the LGBT community.
The centre will include a fitness suite, cafe, clinical treatment rooms, a training suite, counselling rooms and office space. Activities will include older peoples befriending groups, Transgender support groups, lunch clubs, film clubs book clubs, comedy nights, discussion groups and talks about issues such as pension schemes, LGBT history and confidence building. The project will also fund activities and workshops such as counselling, sexual health awareness, yoga, self defence, meditation and alcohol support.
Carers Trust Heart of England is awarded £476,270 to improve the lives of young carers in Coventry. The project will work closely with organisations in contact with children and young people aged 5-18 to identify hidden young carers. Activities will include awareness raising sessions at primary schools; support for families, identifying replacement care and respite opportunities for carers and signposting to other support services.
The scheme will benefit 500 young people who provide care to a family member or friend who could not manage alone due to serious illness, have physical disability, learning disability, mental health issues, a substance dependency, or are elderly or frail.
The Notables Foundation/Band in Coventry is awarded £10,000 for a project to provide weekly musical workshops for people living with disabilities. The scheme will enable the beneficiaries to showcase their musical skills at community festivals and offer opportunities for social interaction to help improve confidence and self esteem.
Rape and Sexual Violence Project (RSVP) is awarded £428,998 to support children, women and men affected by sexual violence and abuse to overcome the traumatic effects and make positive outcomes with their lives. The project will offer one to one specialist sexual violence and abuse counselling, and an outreach service across Solihull, Chelmsey Wood, Castle Vale and Erdington
In Stoke-on-trent, Beat the Cold receives £9,860 for a project to run an advisory service providing contingency support for vulnerable families to ensure that families with young children remain warm if their own heating fails.
The Friends of Glebe Farm in Birmingham receive £2,219 to provide community day trips and activities for older people who face social isolation, bereavement or live with disabilities, while Three Trees Community Centre in Chelmsley Wood, North Solihull, is awarded £514,491 for a project to build a single storey extension to the centre to create a new open plan lounge and gallery space, a multi-use room, a small one to one space and a medical and counselling room to provide health and addiction recovery support.
Lyn Cole, Big Lottery Fund, England Grant Making Director, said: “Whether it's offering vital assistance for vulnerable people and their carers, providing a safe space for those experiencing the trauma of abuse, or making sure that disadvantaged young families stay warm, these projects will make a huge difference to the lives of many people. They are excellent examples of people working together, often as volunteers, to support others in their community to build on the skills they have and reach their potential.”
Today’s awards have been made through the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All and Reaching Communities programmes. Awards for All provides grants between £300 and £10,000 to voluntary and community organisations and Reaching Communities awards larger grants of £10,000 and above for more long term projects.
