WIREDGOV

Around £20.1 million will be shared amongst 734 organisations across England, in the latest round of grant awards from the Big Lottery Fund.

Yesterday’s funding will support local projects that put people in the lead to improve their lives and communities.

Below are examples of some of the great projects receiving funding. See a full list of awards

The Factory Youth Zone in Manchester has received £377,109 for a new work experience project for young people. The organisation will work with partners to provide a structured programme, with a diverse range of work experience opportunities, motivational talks and visits, as well as one-to-one and group mentoring and coaching sessions. The project aims to help 800 young people overcome barriers to work and employment by broadening their horizons and helping them to realise their potential.

Crisis Point in Walsall will use £496,421 for a project supporting adult, teen and child victims and survivors of sexual crimes across the West Midlands. Recognising people’s individual needs, it will provide bespoke interventions like support through the justice system, sexual health screening and counselling. This will help improve people’s life chances, health and mental well-being. Those supported by the service can remain with the group as volunteers, drawing on their experiences to support others and raise awareness in the local community.

Northamptonshire Parent Infant Partnership (NorPIP) gets £496,275 for a new project to improve the overall life chances of babies born to parents experiencing a range of needs, including mental health issues, perinatal psychosis and post-natal depression, or a history of domestic violence. Through therapy, an antenatal programme and volunteer befrienders, people will gain access to support specific to their needs and the chance to share experiences and build social networks to help address practical and emotional issues.

Fine Cell Work in London has received £488,077 to provide increased employment and social skills for ex-prisoners to help them transition back into the community and reduce re-offending. Long-term ex-offenders who worked with the charity while in prison will be able to receive work experience, continue their training and gain employment support upon release. Ex-offenders will complete sewing machine and upholstery qualifications begun in prison and benefit from other training and opportunities.

Impact Family Services in Sunderland has been awarded £490,610 to work with men who admit to abusive behaviour within a relationship and wish to change. The project will help them to change how they think and prevent domestic abuse through intervention and support. Partners or ex-partners of those attending the programme will also be offered specialist outreach and refuge support.

Brighton Dome and Festival will use £158,500 to develop its creative and social learning scheme for vulnerable women aged 13-21 with particularly complex needs within the social care and criminal justice systems. The project will help them gain life skills through workshops to enable them to play positive roles in the community, and for the community to better understand them. Workshop sessions will be run by arts professionals and social workers, with the creative output being led by the women supported.

Broxbourne Citizens Advice Bureau gets £483,381 for a new project is to tackle the link between poverty, poor mental health, unemployment or insecure employment, low aspirations and under-achievement across generations of families. Various support and training will be provided to families to help them increase their confidence and ability to manage finances, build mental health confidence and develop new skills. Children will benefit through a range of targeted out-of-school programmes to raise skills and aspirations.

Holsworthy Rural Community Transport in Devon has been awarded £323,484 to provide a new community transport service for isolated older people, many of whom are disabled. The wheelchair accessible minibus will take people to local towns for shopping trips, activities and daily trips. The new service will target specific isolated villages that currently have no bus service.

Safe and Sound Homes (SASH) in Bridlington, East Yorkshire has received £478,851 to build on its current work of providing emergency accommodation and advice to young people at risk, experiencing homelessness and those in dangerous living situations. SASH will support vulnerable young people to move from homelessness into appropriate housing, support services and training, and seek out and secure long-term housing.

Yesterday’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.

Notes to editors

• The Big Lottery Fund is the largest funder of community activity in the UK. We put people in the lead to improve their lives and communities, often through small, local projects.
• We are responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised by National Lottery players for good causes. Every year we invest over £650 million and award around 12,000 grants across the UK for health, education, environment and charitable purposes.
• Since June 2004 we have awarded over £8 billion to projects that change the lives of millions of people.