Projects to keep communities safe and protect some of the most vulnerable in society are among the schemes in Warwickshire being given a £2.25 million pound boost by the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Seccombe.
A total of £1,055,814 is being distributed through the Commissioner’s Grants Scheme to projects, with funding confirmed more than a month earlier than usual in order to ensure financial support is readily in place for organisations supporting the most vulnerable through the current Covid-19 coronavirus crisis.
The grants come in addition to the more than £1.2 million of funding which the Commissioner invests each year in directly commissioned services, supporting victims of crime, including domestic abuse, sexual abuse and child exploitation, as well as substance misuse services for adults and children.
All of the latest grants awards are for initiatives which support the ambitions of the Police and Crime Plan for Warwickshire, either enabling improved community safety, providing initiatives for children and young people or services for victims of crime, including people suffering domestic abuse and those exposed to fraud and cybercrime.
Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe said: “My office has worked extremely hard over the last few weeks to finalise these grants and ensure that charities and community organisations across Warwickshire have the resources they need from us to continue their vital work, despite the challenges of the Covid-19 crisis.
“I wanted to make sure that there would be no uncertainty for those organisations, particularly for those who have found that other funding streams have been affected by the current crisis. It is especially important that those organisations working with the most vulnerable in society can continue their work at this time as it is needed more than ever.
“The applications were made before the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic, so we have spoken to all of the recipients to understand how their plans might have changed and whether further support may be needed. We have also brought forward the payment of these grants and donations to ensure that there will be no interruption to this vital work.”
Projects to help victims of domestic abuse and their families receive the largest share of the funding pot, in recognition of the increases of this type of crime that the lockdown period is expected to bring.
The Family Intervention Counselling Service has been awarded more than £120,000 for a range of initiatives aimed at supporting victims of domestic abuse and stalking, as well as programmes aimed at perpetrators, while Insight Counselling (formerly DACS) is also being given a £12,500 grant in recognition of the additional casework it will be supporting over the next six months from clients suffering from domestic abuse.
Schemes boosting the safety of the county’s roads also feature heavily among those awarded, in line with the Commissioner’s ambition to reduce the numbers of people killed and serious injured in collisions each year. These include schemes promoting safe cycling and motorcycle riding, new ‘Safe Road User’ awards for schoolchildren, as well as more general road safety promotional activities.
Elsewhere, funding support is also confirmed for the work of the Commissioner’s cyber crime, rural crime and business crime advisors, alongside youth schemes and smaller awards to community organisations, including Neighbourhood Watch groups.
Mr Seccombe added: “My overall message to the vulnerable and victims of crime is that support services are continuing to be funded and are operating well throughout the Covid-19 crisis, so please do continue to seek their help when you need it.”
A full list of all the grants-awarded projects for this year can be found at: www.warwickshire-pcc.gov.uk/grants-awarded-2020-21/
Funding for a small number of further applications will be finalised in the coming weeks, including the core grants for the county’s Community Safety Partnerships.
You can also find a range of information and advice on where to get help during the current Covid-19 emergency on the PCC’s website at: https://www.warwickshire-pcc.gov.uk/helpingyou/
