Charities and voluntary groups across County Durham and Darlington are being offered a chance to secure vital funding to support their work to boost community safety.
Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen, in partnership with County Durham Community Foundation (CDCF), has set aside £150,000 in 2022-23 to bolster local efforts to address crime, antisocial behaviour and vulnerability and increase public confidence.
The Community Safety Fund 2022 will enable community and voluntary organisations to apply for a grant of between £2,000 and £7,500 to support grassroots projects that share Commissioner Allen’s priorities to make County Durham and Darlington safer.
The PCC is keen to back projects and initiatives that tackle quality of life issues that matter most to residents such as antisocial behaviour (ASB), drug use and drug dealing, fly-tipping, speeding and vandalism.
Schemes which are driven towards making County Durham and Darlington stronger and more resilient to crime and ASB will also be looked upon favourably.
Commissioner Allen said: “I have high expectations for County Durham and Darlington and I need a team of dedicated, results-driven community partners to make my ambitions a reality.
“My Community Safety Fund will support projects that make a difference to the lives of ordinary, hard-working people and protect their right to a safe and peaceful homelife. It will also back initiatives that undertake tried and tested methods of diverting people away from crime and deliver long-term relief from community problems.
“Fear of crime is just as debilitating as crime itself which is why it is important to me and our partners that the work we support contributes to overall feelings of safety and wellbeing in our neighbourhoods and allow members of the public to access public spaces with confidence and reassurance.”
The Community Safety Fund is aimed at projects and initiatives that work at a community level and complement the work already underway to improve safety – not those already supported by core funding or delivering statutory services/policing.
Projects should closely mirror the goals outlined in the PCC’s Police and Crime Plan (2021 to 2024) which sets out six key safety themes and 117 key targets.
Funding grants can include remuneration for communication materials, activity materials/ costs, session workers, room hire, volunteer and staffing costs as well as other costs associated with delivering a project.
Preference will be given to projects that focus on a specific locality as opposed to initiatives with a wider but lighter touch approach.
Successful applicants will be required to provide evidence and information at the end of the funding period to show how the scheme has made a difference to the local community.
Applications will be independently assessed by CDCF and put forward to a community panel made up of serving police officers, community members and CDCF representatives. The Fund opens on 5th May for applications and the deadline for applications is 19th June 2022.
To apply for a grant, organisations should complete the online application form at www.cdcf.org.uk.