Staffordshire Commissioner Matthew Ellis visited young people at a Brazilian Arts organisation in Stoke-on-Trent, which has received a grant from the Commissioner’s People Power Fund.
Art Brasil deliver community classes in Capoeira, a vibrant, energetic and engaging Brazilian fusion of martial arts, dance, music and culture. The project engages people from across Shelton and Stoke Town, providing diversionary activities aimed at reducing engagement in crime and anti-social behaviour. The classes teach participants new skills, helps confidence building and provides them with new opportunities to make new friends.
Mika De Oliveira from Art Brasil said “With funding support from the Staffordshire Commissioner’s office, we have set up a new community capoeira project in Stoke. Capoeira is a vibrant, energetic and engaging Brazilian fusion of martial arts, dance, music and culture.
Our project provides a safe environment for children and young people to access regular structured physical activity that requires discipline and focus whilst also being creative and expressive with movement. By bringing children, young people and adults together we aim to bridge generational gaps, increase community cohesion and promote mutual respect across generations”.
The Staffordshire Commissioner has made £200,000 available through the People Power Fund and Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) Fund.
The People Power Fund supports locally driven community safety activities throughout Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. These include providing long-term positive activities for young people to help reduce anti-social behaviour or mentoring programmes for targeted local groups, through to activities that reassure and improve the quality of life for people in local areas.
Staffordshire’s Police, Fire and Rescue and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis said: “The People Power Fund helps local communities with ideas to make their areas safer. It is really easy to apply for and is about preventing problems like anti-social behaviour through better security or anything that is likely to successfully deter wrong-doing and community nuisance”.
The latest round of People Power Funding closed on Saturday 14 September. People Power Fund applications need to be sponsored by the group’s Neighbourhood Police Officer or PCSO and will initially be assessed by the local Community Safety Partnership.
The People Power Fund is one part of the Commissioner’s Community Funding for 2019/20.
Find out more about the People Power Fund.
