A new fund has been launched offering community-based groups or individuals grants of up to £10,000 to help make their community safer, giving people a sense of pride in their community and improving their quality of life.
The People Zone Grants Fund has been developed by Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews and will initially help fund the cost of new initiatives or expand existing community provision in the Bell Foundry People Zone.
People Zones are designated geographic areas where the PCC is working together with residents, local and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations to ‘grow safer communities by building on strengths, creating connections and empowering everyone to play a role’.
In these zones, an Asset-Based Community Development - or ABCD – approach is being utilised. Instead of focusing on what’s wrong with an area, the ABCD approach focuses on the strengths of our communities, harnessing the skills and networks within them to build towards positive change.
The PCC and his team have undertaken research across all three People Zones (Bell Foundry, New Parks and Thringstone & Whitwick) over the past six months to uncover local talent, find those all-important services who are the cornerstones of every community.
From the Bell Foundry People Zone research, four overarching themes were identified; Health & Wellbeing (including support for people’s emotional wellbeing), Community Safety (to focus on people feeling safe), Pride of Place (increasing pride in the community through addressing fly-tipping, littering and embarking on enhancement projects) and Celebrating the People (harnessing the great work and desire of residents to be more engaged).
The first grants scheme invites community organisations, voluntary groups and individuals who live, work or serve the community within the Bell Foundry area to apply for funding to help develop sustainable projects and initiatives around these key themes whilst supporting the wider community to achieve their aspirations.
Further funding rounds will be announced for New Parks and Thringstone & Whitwick shortly.
Launching the fund, Mr Matthews said: “This is a key milestone for the People Zones project and will enable the people working on the ground who understand these communities best the funding they need to make a difference.
“The whole concept behind People Zones is that by working together as equal partners and sharing resources and expertise, we can make a stronger impact than if we tackled problems alone. We are already starting to see how this works in reality with communities thinking very carefully about th assets locally and how these can be developed.
“My People Zone Grants Fund will take it even further, empowering providers to target the themes identified in our research and giving people meaningful support to help them thrive.
“Tackling the issues that matter to local people is a top priority for me. This funding will give our residents an important role to play in developing the solutions that will improve local life for everyone, but especially the most vulnerable.”
The Fund opens today (Monday 30th January 2023) and will close on Monday 27th February 2023.
The fund is open to applicants from any community-based group or individual that has a registered bank account, who are either living, working, or providing a service within the People Zone.
To find out more information or to apply, visit: https://www.peoplezones.co.uk/grant-funding.
