Funding for positive activities and engagement with young people

A joint funding project between the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk (OPCCN), Norfolk Community Foundation, Norfolk County Council and Norfolk Youth Advisory Board has awarded over £170,000 to organisations across the county to help young people access a range of activities.

SPACE (Supporting Positive Activities and Community Engagement) youth fund has been set up to reach young people, primarily aged 13 to 15 with positive youth activities in Norfolk. Six organisations across Norfolk have been successful with their bids, which includes sports and art-based provision.

Seed funding from the OPCCN of £50,000 was then given to the Norfolk Community Safety Partnership to encourage further contributions to a children and young people’s fund. This has now grown to over £170,000, jointly funded by the OPCCN, Norfolk Community Foundation, Norfolk County Council and several of Norfolk’s Youth Advisory Boards.

The Norfolk Community Foundation, who will fund will be working with the following organisations ensuring the funding is spread over a wide geographic area:

Successful organisations

Organisation	Project Description - Summary	Amount awarded
Benjamin Foundation	To carry out detached youth work in Watton and surrounding areas during evenings and weekends, including a 'Day Tripper' programme, and support the running of Watton Youth Club.	£29,942.00
EP Youth	To fund youth workers to deliver detached sessions in different locations in the rural hinterland around Fakenham where antisocial behaviour has been identified.	£30,000.00
Henderson Trust	Increase youth worker hours to expand projects supporting young people and offer free holiday activity sessions.	£28,516.00
Mancroft Advice Project (MAP)	To deliver a high quality, open-access two-hour youth group weekly for 11-16 year-olds at the Phoenix Centre in Mile Cross.	£30,000.00
Matthew Project	To employ a qualified youth worker to organise and deliver positive activities to groups of up to ten young people aged 13-18 who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET.	£25,636.00
SWAN Youth Project (Norfolk)	To employ an additional youth worker for 12 hours per week to support 13-15 year-olds wanting to access the open access sessions and the Bike Kitchen Project.	£30,000.00

All the successful organisations are members of the Sir Norman Lamb Coalition for Young People. This coalition is made up of Norfolk-based Voluntary, Community, or Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations working with children and young people to help strengthen their existing services and encourage and promote innovation to enrich our children and young people’s lives.

Norfolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Giles Orpen-Smellie, said: “This type of collaborative community-based provision is so important and reflects the Community Safety Partnership’s preventative approach. Providing opportunities like this to young people helps build stronger and safer communities for now and the future. This is why these priorities feature prominently in my Police, Crime and Community Safety Plan.”

Catrin Hamer, Senior Programmes Advisor at Norfolk Community Foundation, said: “Opportunities like this only happen when we all work together. We’re proud to have coordinated this amazing multi-year funding opportunity that will offer stability for young people and lead to positive outcomes for communities. We are always here to champion local charities that do amazing work to help young people in our Norfolk communities.”

Anna Foster, Chief Executive Officer of SWAN Youth Project, said: “The SPACE fund will have a significant positive impact on young people in our community, helping to support young people and give them the opportunity to engage in positive, productive activities. We believe that this will not only keep young people safe but also help to improve their overall well-being and quality of life. We are grateful for the support of the Police Crime Commissioner's SPACE fund and look forward to working together to make the community a better place for all.”