11 charities from across Lancashire have been successful in their bids to secure emergency funding to help them to deliver services during the pandemic.
The Police and Crime Commissioner has secured an additional £98,101 of funding to provide small
and micro charities with a boost to help them continue to support children and young people during
restrictions placed in light of COVID-19. Local charities were invited to make a bid to the Lancashire
Violence Reduction Network and the grants have now been awarded.
The following organisations were successful in their bids:
East Lancashire
The Emily Davison Centre (Accrington)
The Emily Davison Centre is the first ‘Ending Violence against Women and Girls Hub’ in the UK. It is
home to six charities which work to identify, support and protect adults and children who are living
with or have experienced abuse, exploitation or violence. The funding will enable outdoor activities
to take place in the summer holidays including work to create an onsite green space where children
and young people can meet.
PEP Enterprise CIC (Accrington)
PEP Enterprise works to support, empower and inspire communities. The funding will support a local
SafeSpace for homeless 16-25 year olds including sheltered accommodation, counselling and
mentoring.
Burnley Boys and Girls Club (BBGC) (Burnley)
Burnley Boys and Girls Club has been supporting young people for 122 years. Following a 2,000%
increase in service users, the funding will help their services to continue after volunteers have
returned back to work. The club helps to educate boys and young men, girls and young women
through leisure activities to develop their physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potential.
Every Action Has Consequences (Blackburn with Darwen)
Every Action Has Consequences delivers education packages to young people to encourage them to
question specific aspects of youth culture and really understand the possible consequences of their
actions. The funding will enable them to continue engaging with young people to help keep them
safe from violent crime.
Youth Action (East Lancashire)
Youth Action supports children and families with 1-to-1 wellbeing and emotional support as well as a
range of training courses. The funding will enable Youth Action to provide additional support to young people and their families including food parcels, learning tablets to enable children to access
remote youth sessions, and socially distanced face-to-face sessions.
South Lancashire
Freestyle Urban Soccer CIC (Chorley)
Multi-award winning Freestyle Urban Soccer CIC provides free activities in Chorley and the North
West during the evenings, weekends and school holidays. The funding will enable their youth team
to provide a physical presence within Chorley East and Adlington.
Mindcheck One Two CIC (Chorley and surrounding area)
Mindcheck One Two CIC engages children and young people in modern music, embracing
performance and self-expression. New equipment will enable them to transition to alternative ways
of providing their service that are socially distanced and safe.
Empower The Invisible Project CIC (Preston)
This is a grassroots peer-led organisation that works with young people. The funding will help the
children and young people who are involved with the Empower The Invisible project to access
meaningful activities, sessional work and experience positive role modelling from project leaders.
North Lancashire
Lancashire Youth Challenge (Lancaster)
Lancashire Youth Challenge nurtures, supports, and challenges young people living in North
Lancashire to overcome barriers and obstacles to achieve personal success. The funding will support
1-1 mentoring sessions and a project to inspire young people to break a series of World Records.
Marsh Community Centre (Lancaster)
Marsh Community Centre is an open access drop in centre offering advice, signposting, and a range
of groups for young people. The funding will support outdoor activities and equipment to enable the
centre to adapt and continue to engage with young people safely.
SAFE (Lancaster, Morecambe and surrounding areas)
SAFE works with groups of young people and adults who are experiencing mental health issues and
other life challenges. The funding will support SAFE’s virtual activities, telephone support and activity packs for group members aged 13-18 years.
Detective Chief Superintendent Sue Clarke, Head of the Lancashire Violence Reduction Network
commented:
“The pandemic has further highlighted vulnerabilities in our young people and made it more difficult for them to access support. We have been inspired by the dedication that charities and support organisations have shown in adapting to the new situation and continuing to support young people as best as they can during a difficult and uncertain time.
“This much-needed funding is vital to helping support organisations to continue engaging with young people and working to keep them safe.”
Clive Grunshaw, Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner said:
“I’m really pleased that charities from across the county are set to benefit from this funding which will support the vital work they do for young people here in Lancashire.
“Supporting vulnerable people is a key priority in my Police and Crime Plan and the Covid-19 pandemic has created additional challenges for organisations that support some of our most vulnerable.
“This funding will make a big difference to the work they do and have a positive impact in communities across Lancashire.”
