17 Apr 2015
[caption id="attachment_1852" align="alignright" width="300"]
Celebrating Tysul Youth’s grant success with PCSO Sian Davies.[/caption]
Twenty-four initiatives are to benefit from a £92,000 grants programme organised by Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner Christopher Salmon.
They include a Ceredigion project which receives more than £2,500 to improve safety in the home and a Pembrokeshire scheme which gets around £4,400 to train volunteers to help keep people safe at night.
Others include a Powys scheme which receives almost £2,000 to help keep car park users safe and a Carmarthenshire initiative which receives more than £4,000 to coach vulnerable people in online safety.
The third round of assistance from the Commissioner’s Fund offered grants of up to £5,000 for charities, voluntary organisations and community groups to develop ideas that have a positive impact on the area they serve.
Mr Salmon hopes the scheme will help improve the lives of the people across the region. The projects reflect - in some way - Mr Salmon’s 2013-18 Police and Crime Plan for Dyfed-Powys. First round grants were awarded in August 2013, second round last April.
The Commissioner said: “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to offer grants totalling £92,588. This will be shared out across the region to help improve the lives of the people in our communities.
“I congratulate those connected with the successful submissions; the number and quality of applications was high. Indeed, this round attracted bids totalling £305,000 from 76 initiatives.
“I thank all those who worked so hard on their submissions to the third round of Commissioner’s Fund grants.”
Mr Salmon believes that everybody has a part to play in making neighbourhoods safer; thousands of people already volunteer or work hard to help in this process.
The Commissioner’s Fund provides further assistance. It is funded by the proceeds of crime awarded to the police and from the sale of unclaimed found property.
Community projects were not nominated by the public or organisations but by frontline police officers and Dyfed-Powys Police staff, and approved by senior officers who assessed applications against criteria such as the need for the project and the numbers to benefit.
A fourth round of Commissioner’s Fund applications is expected to open this summer.
CASE STUDIES
Dyfed-Powys
WWAMH £3,860 This money will fund a surf therapy programme, aiming to address mental and emotional health issues. The use of a positive experience can influence thinking and behaviour, and deter criminal activity. WWAMH is the Carmarthen-based West Wales Action for Mental Health.
BAWSO £4,996 This project will deliver a series of information sessions on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), specifically the health needs of women who have experienced FGM and safeguarding children at risk. The aim is to increase awareness of, and confidence in responding to FGM.
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire People First £4,120 This funding will allow Carmarthenshire People First to develop a training workshop. It will highlight the risks of engaging in digital activities such as Facebook and online dating. This will be delivered to a range of vulnerable people in Carmarthenshire.
Action for Children £2,590 This money will fund a project called ‘Action for Children in Llanelli to Strengthen Families Programme’. It will be delivered to 20 practitioners who help families. The programme helps to build family communication, prevent substance misuse and deliver peer resistance skills.
Felinfoel RFC Juniors £4,400 This funding will provide rugby equipment for this Llanelli-based club which promotes access to the sport, regardless of gender or ability. It will allow Felinfoel RFC Juniors to recruit members and ensure facilities and coaching are of a high standard.
Tysul Youth £4,300 This money will contribute towards the regeneration of Plas-y-Dderwen - a Llandysul site used by the community - through a programme of workshops and other activities. The aim is to create a better sense of community particularly amongst young people.
The Wallich £4,788.70 This money will allow the Llanelli Centre Project (LCP) to recruit and train more volunteers. These volunteers allow LCP to reduce anti-social behaviour, and enable young people to learn transferrable skills to help them return to education or gain employment.
Llanelli Womens Aid £4,900 Llanelli Women’s Aid will use this money to fund a project which supports young people who have used violence and abuse in close relationships. This 30-week programme is targeted at those aged 10-25 and uses a range of therapeutic and practical tools to steer individuals away from such behaviour.
Ceredigion
Drovers Wheel Community Hub £4,100 This money will help Whilen Y Porthmyn (Drovers Wheel Community Hub) safeguard the community of Tregaron. This grant will fund a variety of activites for a range of people, aimed at tackling rural and economic isolation. It may include networking, computer use and police drop-in sessions.
Camfan Voluntary £4,298 Camfan Voluntary is a Lampeter-based organisation that supports vulnerable adults. They will use this money to expand their centre’s opening hours, providing a social space for their members, and to buy equipment for activities.
Ty Curig Cantref Foyer £3,750 Aberystwyth’s Ty Curig Cantref Foyer supports vulnerable people aged 16-25, and provides them with opportunities for development. This money will provide musical equipment to help these young people explore creativity through music.
Age Concern Ceredigion £4,800 This money will be used to produce bilingual stickers to promote Age Concern Ceredigion’s No Cold Caller project. The initiative is aimed at older people but has a wider community benefit of raised awareness of scams, loan sharks and doorstep selling.
Ceredigion YJPS £4,987 This money, for the county’s youth justice and prevention service, will support a programme for young people aged 12-16 at risk of offending. Ruck It 7s focuses on sport and fitness techniques coupled with classroom based techniques to address behaviour that increases the risk of offending, therefore reducing the risk of further offending.
Jig-so Childrens Centre £2,528 The money will fund bilingual sessions for vulnerable children aged up to 14. These sessions, run by Cardigan-based Jig-so, will focus on safety in the home and community. A theatre event focusing on safety will take place.
Pembrokeshire
Pembroke Street Pastors £4,420 The pastors provide a presence on the streets in order to listen, care and help, especially during the night. They work in partnership with the police to ensure a safer, cohesive society and to help prevent crime. This funding will be used to pay for training, travel and essential accessories for the volunteers.
Pembrokeshire People First £4,985 This money will fund training for Pembrokeshire People First supporters to design an interactive workshop for young people. The workshop will aim to raise awareness of learning disabilities and hate crime, and challenge thinking about disability.
MAMS £4,200 Mothers Affection Matters (MAMS) is a community interest company which offers group therapy and one-to-one counselling. The funding will pay for a 10-week course of therapeutic group work and individual counselling for vulnerable women who have experienced domestic abuse.
Pembrokeshire Cedar £1,540.20 Pembrokeshire Cedar is the county’s Haverfordwest-based centre for domestic abuse resource, a one-stop shop for anyone experiencing domestic abuse. This money will fund resources for victims to help them in their home or when leaving their partner.
Milford Youth Matters £5,000 Milford Youth Matters work with young Milford Haven people who are at risk of offending or causing anti-social behaviour. The funding will allow them to work for an extra evening each week going out into the community to engage with young people, and to open the youth centre to act as a hub and drop-in centre
Span Arts £5,000 Span Arts engages with a range of Pembrokeshire residents. Its aim is to reduce social, economic and rural isolation. This funding will contribute towards a 12-month social inclusion project with the goal of reducing social isolation and antisocial behaviour.
Letterston Youth Group £900 The funding will allow Letterston Youth Group to revamp a community building. The project will engage young people in the area and aims to benefit the community by reducing antisocial behaviour and criminal damage.
Powys
Montgomeryshire Family Crisis Centre £3,116 Montgomeryshire Family Crisis Centre provides refuges for female and male victims of domestic abuse. This money will be spent on replacing old, worn and broken items within the female refuge with the aim of encouraging women to stay at the refuge.
Beacon’s Rural Action Group £1,930 Beacon’s Rural Action Group will use this funding to coordinate volunteers in Glyn, Talybont. These volunteers will patrol car parks during peak times with the aim of reducing crime and antisocial behaviour, and increasing local confidence.
Brecon Youth Foyer £3,080 This Brecon project offers support and accommodation to vulnerable people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness. This funding will allow the Grwp Gwalia project to redevelop the accommodation and help engage clients with the community. It aims to reduce offending and reoffending.
Total funds allocated £92,588.90
