Safer Communities Fund

Safer Communities Fund

Safer Communities Fund

The Safer Communities Fund was launched in 2014 to help voluntary, community groups, charities and partners keep their communities’ safe and feeling safe. More than 1.5 million pounds has now been allocated to charities, voluntary groups and other organisations across West Yorkshire. The Safer Communities Fund is financed from monies recovered by West Yorkshire Police under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA). The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 lets us confiscate or recover the proceeds of crime from a criminal.

340 projects have benefitted so far and the money will help fund projects that are tackling issues and community safety themes in the Police and Crime Plan; including reducing reoffending, improving feelings of safety and improving community cohesion a few outcomes.

Grant Round 10 closed on the 20th January and as usual was oversubscribed. In 2017, there are a further 2 opportunities to apply for the Safer Communities Fund including:

Grant Round 11 opening on 24th April 2017 and closing on 26th May 2017

Grant Round 12 opening on 4th September 2017 and closing on 6th October 2017

Please see below project summaries for the most recent Grant Round 9, awarded in December 2016.

Grant Round Nine Project Summaries

Halifax Street Angels

Calderdale - £4,820.00

Halifax Street Angels is a charity which works within the night-time economy to meet the needs of those who have become vulnerable in Halifax Town Centre and Sowerby Bridge. The organisation operates between 10pm-4am and within that time offer support and assistance to people out enjoying the nightlife, those who are homeless, people who suffer with addiction, or young people who have become stranded and are in need of a safe place in the town centre.The projectdelivers alcohol, drug and crime awareness workshops to young people across Calderdale. Running a community café which aims to provide a safe place for vulnerable people to get help and support through the suspended scheme for the homeless and 'Safe Place' scheme for people with disabilities. The project also delivers free first aid training to young people across Calderdale.

Friends of Cottingley Community Centre

Leeds - £4,680

Friends of Cottingley volunteer group was set up in August 2015 to work alongside the community centre. The aim is to resolve resident’s issues and engage with agencies. Conversationswere had with the community to make sure they felt safe and combat issues such as isolation and antisocial behaviour. The project was set up after a large consultation across the local community which identified the biggest issue as being anti-social behaviour, particularly from the under 11's age group.The group will aim to provide a safe, free group for children to attend. The project will encourage the children to be more community minded, allow them to feel some ownership of a space and provide them with activities such as team work and appropriate social interaction with adults and their peers.

Sorted Church

Bradford - £5,000

10 years ago Sorted launched its work in the poorest and toughest estates of Bradford. Through this time, they have continued to grow and today engage with over 130 young people every week. The Church of England established Sorted Church as a flagship project, they are committed to support replication across other communities in West Yorkshire.The projectwill bring together young people from two central locations for an evening of games and activities. The evenings run from 7-9pm and are full of energy and provide a safe space for young volunteers to support their peers. To help engage the harder to reach,the project is providing trial sessions of DJing, street dance and sports. Young people will help to decide a timetable of new activities.Asummer residential will provide 24 young people will have the opportunity to spend 5 days (4 nights) away from estate life, building positive relationships and increasing their aspirations.

Hope for Justice

Bradford - £4,990.00

Hope for Justice specialises in rescuing victims of human trafficking (from forced labour to sexual exploitation), advocating on their behalf and providing restorative care which rebuilds their lives and training frontline professionals to tackle modern day slavery (MDS). Since 2012 they have rescued over 400 victims of MDS.

The project will engage with potential victims of human trafficking including sex workers and victims of sex trafficking in migrant communities in Bradford, more specifically within the Roma groups by enabling them to identify common trafficking indicators and the processes of reporting such crimes. Multilingual flyers will be distributed detailing general trafficking indicators and some which will be specifically aimed at sex workers and victims of sex trafficking. The aim of the flyers is to provide vital contact details to victims should they wish to receive help or support.

Making Your Mind Up Project (MYMUP)

Bradford - £4,450.00

MYMUP provides a range of activities incorporating online MYMUP services, community events and activities combined with specialist support and information sessions on topics including employability, relationships, social prescribing and wellbeing. The organisation looks for creative solutions to address challenging issues. Innocence or Ignorance is a programme that aims to raises awareness of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and equip young people with the information and confidence to make informed decisions. A film resource pack combined with a scheme of work will be produced to highlight the issues surrounding CSE. The scenarios have been created to explore the consequences of decisions surrounding Internet Safety, Grooming and promote the difference between Healthy and Unhealthy relationships. The workshops and resources aim to raise awareness and promote a greater understanding of the issues surrounding CSE. The content produced is intended to start a conversation with young people and highlight issues surrounding CSE, promoting the importance of staying safe online and in the community.

Leeds Jewish Welfare Board

Leeds - £3,572.48

Leeds Jewish Welfare Board provides a comprehensive range of high quality, professionally delivered, culturally sensitive services. Leeds is home to one of Britain’s largest Jewish communities and their purpose built Marjorie & Arnold Ziff Community Centre (MAZCC) is a secure safe haven at the heart of the community. The project will provide information sessions and one-to-one support to sixty vulnerable service users. They will benefit from crime awareness and security advice covering crimes including personal and home safety, hate crime and abuse. Two information sessions will be delivered by Community Support professionals at the MAZCC in partnership with the Community Security Trust (CST). One will focus on recognising crime and confidence building and the other guarding against and dealing with crime. Each service user will meet with a support worker to develop a personal safety plan following the sessions improving confidence and resilience.

Health for All

Leeds - £4,927.60

Health for All is a community health development organisation that works in partnership with local government, health services and local people to engage with and improve disadvantaged communities.

The project will run three Personal Safety courses over a six-week duration, primarily for Bangladeshi women but open to all. Two of these courses will be open to women-only and one will be mixed and provide a crèchefor the sessions. Courses will be delivered in the local communities and in venues managed by Health for All. To maximise accessibility the project will run two during the day and one in the evening and also provide transport for those not living in the immediate area. The project will support participants to access projects for victims of domestic violence; specialist agencies dealing with sexual violence; and/or reporting to the police. Participants will gain strategies for dealing with potentially violent situations, thereby reducing the likelihood of becoming victims.

West Yorkshire Partnership

Kirklees - £1000

West Yorkshire police are co-located within Kirklees council licensing department working in partnership in both enforcement and early intervention including crime prevention in both taxis and license premises.

The project will provide all licensed private hire and Hackney carriage vehicles with dashboard stickers promoting prepayment of fare and awareness of reporting hate crime. Similar stickers for license premises, takeaways, providing window stickers promoting similar objectives to prevent violence, crime, ASB and Hate Crime.

Housing Leeds

Leeds - £5,000

Housing Leeds is a local authority looking after the homes of over 19000 residents in Leeds. The Tenant & Community Involvement Team work with local communities to empower them and help them be as active as they can in improving their communities.

The project is for Leeds United Foundation to deliver a 30 week football programme within Halton Moor with clear outcomes at the end of the programme. The premier league kicks programme is designed to inspire young people to get active in their communities and realise their potential. Halton Moor has suffered with an increase in ASB over the past 12 to 18 months mainly due to the lack of facilities in the area due to the sports centre closing down.

This programme will connect with disaffected youth, build safer and stronger and more respectful communities through development of the youngsters’ potential. The ultimate aim is to reduce reports of crime and ASB in the community and engage and signpost the children and young people.

NETHERTON YOUTH CREW

Wakefield - £1,500.00

Netherton youth crew is a youth club for the young people of Netherton and the surrounding areas, between the ages of 11 & 16. It was set up in 2008 specifically to target youth anti-social behaviour at the time, which culminated in a serious assault on a local resident.

The primary objective in setting up and running the club is to tackle anti-social behaviour, by taking young teenagers off the streets, and giving them a focus and identity. The club also addresses the serious issue of social deprivation which arises from living in a rural community with poor transport links, which prevents social contact with their peers, a major factor on causing ASB. To this end, the club is fostering close relations with breakthrough youth, who are based in Horbury and who have a regular presence at Horbury academy, the school which most of the children attend. In addition, the presence at Netherton village hall has acted to discourage drug-dealing activity in that area.

The Badgers Karting Team

Wakefield - £2,250.00

The project started in 2011 when Raceway Karting allowed the use of a room for a youth club for children in the Monkhill area of the town.

The project which involves phase 2 students who are all deemed ‘at risk’ either through their criminality or because they go missing from home. The phase 2 students will require the road craft training and a basic understanding of mechanics. All students will then need additional ‘outdoor track’ instruction (to include racing on wet tracks). They will also require a more in depth knowledge of mechanics if they are to maintain their own machine. The project is to facilitate that training and for the cost of paying for track time at other locations around the country.

Hunslet Initiative

Leeds - £4,900

The Hunslet Initiative aims to be a positive presence in the community through providing good quality, constructive activities and support for children, teens, young adults and families delivering activities across south Leeds with a particular focus on Hunslet and Belle Isle.

The launch of the two phase community engagement project will focus on early intervention and crime prevention in two locations. The first phase is a weekly detached session where two youth workers will spend time out in the communities and engage with young people who are out and about on the streets. They will build relationships with these young people and where possible offer advice, support and signposting to other agencies. The second phase of the project is to develop a centre based club for the young people who were meet through the detached work. The club will be a safe place for young people to meet new people, share new experiences and raise self-esteem. Engagement in both phases of this project will provide young people with a positive voice, a diversion from negative behaviour and inspire a change in attitudes and actions.

St Luke's CARES

Leeds - £5000

St Luke's CARES is an established charity providing a wide range of activities and programmes to support some of the most deprived children, young people and families in South Leeds

The Time to Shine project will provide support work placements and volunteering opportunities for 11-18 year old girls living in inner South Leeds who have been identified as vulnerable by their school, the police, social care, and Third Sector partners. The nail bar is a fantastic vehicle for outreach and Time to Shine has the potential to attract girls interested in the beauty industry, giving them a clear alternative to their current risky behaviours. Time to Shine will link the girls to further training, apprenticeships and employment giving them a clear avenue away from the risks of their current lifestyles.

The Shed Youth Club

Wakefield - £4,281.43

The Shed Youth club has been open for 10 years, each Tuesday from 7-9 to reach children from SESKU and Hemsworth with a mission statement of Putting Young People First.

Many of the attendees are causing anti-social behaviour in the local community and would like to attract as many young people as possible by having the things that they have asked for. Experience has shown that ASB occurs usually as a result of boredom and peer-pressure hence the desire to create engaging activities that young people can come together and enjoy. In addition to this the project is also aiming to continue with the bike lights scheme whereby youngsters are provided with equipment so that they are safe and seen when riding at night working in partnership with Lee Farmer from Reverse The Cycle to teach the youngsters how to maintain the safety of their bikes.

Wakefield Council - Communities and Partnerships

Wakefield - £5,000

Communities and Partnerships work with local groups to address local needs finding solutions at grass roots level through effective partners and cooperation. This is for the benefit of the community by raising aspirations and help them to reach their full potential. This is achieved in partnership with Health, Police (NPT) and fire and Rescue Services.

The Project in the town centre will provide dedicated detached youth work team. The youth workers will meet with young people who may be at risk of poor outcomes due to their behaviour and therefore may result in being either victims or perpetrators of crime. The project will recruit young people to a youth forum which will listen to and provide voice for young people at district and local levels to ensure that every attempt is made to meet their needs and include them in democratic processes. Young people who are met on the streets and in Valley Gardens will be supported to plan and deliver a series of activities. Activities will provide new and challenging experiences which will in turn divert the young people from becoming involved in crime and Anti-social behaviour. The team will monitor and evaluate their interventions, working with town centre management and Wakefield Together Partners.

Worth Valley Young Farmers Club

Bradford - £4,895.00

Worth Valley Young Farmers Club has been running 73 years and provides young people in the countryside with opportunities for fun, learning and achievement. Members are aged between 10 and 26 and come from all backgrounds

Worth Valley people visit a web page and sign up to be added to the 'Fields of Vision conversation' via WhatsApp, agreeing to terms and conditions so that the conversation only covers real time suspicious activity or crime. Anyone seeing suspicious activity instantly messages the group (including local police) with details. Members will then blatantly watch suspicious people until they leave the area. If a crime has been committed the system also gives us an instant way to track them, helping the police catch them. Rather than one or two lines of vision, this project gives us multiple fields of vision, hence the title. In addition, publicity around the Fields of Vision project including media signs and a giant land art logo within local fields will act as a deterrent to rural criminals from operating in this area.

North East Windhill Community Association

Bradford - £4,855.00

North East Windhill Community Association's mission statement is "NEWCA works with the local community and other agencies to improve the quality of life for local residents by providing facilities, resources and activities to meet the needs of the community to meet.”