Charities and good causes invited to apply for grants of up to £8,000

A second round of funding has been announced by Southern Co-op with a further £120,000 available for local community projects tackling the causes of crime.

The regional co-operative first launched its Safer Neighbourhood Fund in 2020 concentrated in communities most impacted by crime across its trading area. It was supported by a £100,000 investment, which has led to more than 1,300 people being supported including offenders and/or those at risk of offending.

According to four of the projects working with offenders, their estimated reoffending rates were between 0% and 4.2% – a significant reduction from the national average of 26-32%*.

Mark Smith, Chief Executive of Southern Co-op, said: “There have been some positive steps forward in the last few years but sadly crime is still on the increase. So we need to continue to tackle business crime from every angle to protect our colleagues and customers to enable us to continue to serve local communities across the south.

“The previous round of funding was such a success that we are opening up the opportunities to even more people – this will mean a total of £220,000 donated to local causes and projects.

“Hopefully we can replicate the previous results and help more people to overcome personal barriers and move away from criminal behaviours.”

More than 25,000 incidents are expected to be reported across Southern Co-op’s businesses this year. In 2021, compared to 2020, there was more than a 50% increase in offences which impacted its colleagues such as violence or the threat of violence and abuse.

Local good causes supported by the previous round of funding were Avon Youth Club, Changing Tunes, Empire Fighting Chance, Sixty-One, The West of England Sport Trust (Wesport), Community Alcohol Partnerships, Motiv8, The Society of St James, Youth Options, Young Ealing Foundation, Dorset Reclaim, Faithworks Wessex, Hope Housing Training & Support, and The Bourne Foundation.

Of the people supported by these good causes, more than half improved their resilience or confidence and just over 600 overcame specific personal barriers such as obtaining vital ID for benefits and work, finding secure accommodation, stopping dependence on alcohol, and finding employment.

Other results saw a reduction in negative health and wellbeing behaviours such as abstaining from substance misuse.

One of the participants of Changing Tunes, which has used the funding to deliver music and mentoring work with ex-prisoners based in Greater Bristol, Bournemouth and Southampton, said: “I’ve faced a number of challenges since leaving prison. I came out with anxiety and confidence issues, struggling to find a purpose.

“Since release, I’ve been participating in Changing Tunes’ post-release sessions. This has given me purpose. It also gives me relief from my anxiety. My confidence is growing weekly. I’m learning valuable skills. I’ve made life-long friends.

“I get thrown new challenges from Changes Tunes, which gets my brain into gear, and again takes me away from my anxiety and depression. The life-changing value of Changing Tunes is incalculable!”

A total of 15 grants up to £8,000 are available across Portsmouth, Southampton, Bristol, Bournemouth and South London.

The Safer Neighbourhood Fund is currently open for expressions of interest and applications open on Monday 5 September for six weeks. The deadline is Friday 14th October with applicants notified in November on whether they have been successful.

If you are a charity or good cause supporting offenders and/or those at risk of offending, find our more via https://www.neighbourly.com/campaign/62ea44387e06b7893140dd52.

* National Statistics published by the Ministry of Justice in May 2021, ‘Proven reoffending statistics: January to March 2019’: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/proven-reoffending-statistics-january-to-march-2019/proven-reoffending-statistics-january-to-march-2019

London

One of the recipients, the Young Ealing Foundation, used the funding to support grassroots organisations working with children and young people through its Tackling Youth Violence Forum.

According to the Young Ealing Foundation, 85% of attendees at its Tackling Youth Violence Forum said they felt more aware of the support available to tackle youth violence. 100% of the grassroots groups attending the forum said they felt the forum and support it provides was helpful.

Its Tackling Youth Violence Forum has had guest speakers from the Police, Ealing Council, GLA’s Violence Reduction Unit, education and domestic violence charities.

The Young Ealing Foundation said: “The purpose of the sector is to bring together the community and the voluntary sector, who are working to tackle the issue of youth violence.

“Through our forum we have been able to create dialogue, particularly between the local council and grassroots groups. These discussions have been absolutely vital to exposing where there are gaps in service and how collectively we can support one another to close these gaps.”

Southampton and Bristol

Another of the recipients, Changing Tunes, has used the funding to deliver music and mentoring work with ex-prisoners based in Greater Bristol, Bournemouth and Southampton.

According to Changing Tunes, its beneficiaries face multiple disadvantages and many have experienced trauma, which is often linked to offending, negative behaviour and unhealthy relationships. The music and mentoring work that the charity is doing is enabling its beneficiaries to experience the therapeutic benefits of music-making and to achieve vital personal and social outcomes, so that they can overcome some of the barriers that they face to living meaningful, crime-free lives.

The charity said: “All of our post-release beneficiaries have shown improved emotional resilience during the grant period. Beneficiaries have also demonstrated growing confidence, self-belief and personal agency. As an example, one of our beneficiaries, who has previously been withdrawn and doubted his abilities, has written and recorded three songs for inclusion in our online concert film.”

Bournemouth

Hope Housing, Training and Support is a local housing charity providing supported housing in Dorset for 100 homeless adults.

According to Hope Housing, Training and Support, all participants reported feeling more confident, having better self-esteem, and improved mental wellbeing as a result of the project.

Hope Housing, Training and Support said: “They are less reliant on drugs and alcohol and have improved positivity towards their place in the world and their own future. They no longer feel like they are stigmatised and have learned to realise the effect that their past behaviour has had on others and as a result they have been able to deal with this and any negative feeling arising, effectively putting it behind them.

“All participants reported overcoming feelings of shame or guilt, low esteem and confidence. The support has improved their ability to deal with issues and reduced the desire to re-offend and improved understanding of the impact of their actions.”