A new fund to support Restorative Justice projects in the West Midlands is being launched by the police and crime commissioner. Grants totalling £375,000 will be available to organisations who work with victims, enabling them, if they want to face their offender, to explain how the crime has affected them. Restorative Justice (RJ) also gives ex-offenders the opportunity to make amends for their crimes and repair the harm they have done – by apologising, returning stolen money, or undertaking community service.

New research from THINK! shows that while half the population (51%) would not consider consuming any alcoholic drinks before driving, a shocking one in ten people would consider having two or more drinks before they get behind the wheel.  This increases to one in five among men aged 18-34 (19%). The government has launched a new campaign to tackle drink driving, targeting those who do not recognise that even a small number of drinks before driving can be deadly. 

Offenders doing Community Payback put in more than 1,200 hours for this year's Safer 6 campaign, clearing more than 33 tonnes of waste across Sandwell's six towns. The offenders, who are supervised by Staffordshire and West Midlands Community Rehabilitation Company, cleared 33.6 tonnes of waste – including collecting rubbish and tidying up overgrown bushes and paths – from 14 sites over 1,242 hours.

Organisations in Wolverhampton are organising ‘orange events’ in support of the United Nations’ Orange the World:  End Violence Against Women and Girls campaign. The 16 days of action started on Wednesday 25 November - International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women – continues until Thursday 10 December, 2016, which is Human Rights Day.

HRH The Princess Royal attended a special event hosted by national deafblind charity, Sense. The event, held at Birmingham’s Opus Restaurant  marked the charity’s 60^th anniversary and announced the upcoming construction of a new community centre in Selly Oak that will provide specialist care to people with sensory impairments, and also serve the wider community.

Anyone who uses or has used one of Birmingham’s housing advice centres is invited to have their say on the future homeless and housing advice service. Cabinet member for Neighbourhood Management & Homes, Cllr John Cotton, said: “We currently have four housing advice centres across the city, however some people have experienced delays in receiving the support that they need and we want to make sure that everyone receives a consistent service.