Staffordshire Housing Association has been awarded £3,000 from the Police and Crime Commissioner’s People Power Fund to make people safer in Stoke-on-Trent.
They have been awarded the funds to work alongside local police and Revival Housing to install security measures for elderly and vulnerable residents in the Longton and Fenton area.
One hundred homes in the area have been visited by local PCSO’s and are selected as they have previously been affected by crime. PCSO’s visit each property and engage with the occupant and assess what safety measures would be suitable for them to have in place. Revival, who are part of Staffordshire Housing Association, then attend the home to install the safety equipment.
As part of his commitment to local communities, the Commissioner is providing £500,000 in 2015/16 through the People Power Fund in the form of grants of between £100 and £3,000.
The fund is supporting locally-driven community safety activities in local areas throughout Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
Mr Ellis said: “It was great to talk to local residents and hear how they feel much safer with the extra security in place. Revival and PCSO’s have done a great job working with them to make them less vulnerable.”
Christina Timmis, Mangager at Revival, said: “Getting this funding enabled us to make a positive difference to the lives of some vulnerable people who were fearful in their own homes.
“It is heartening to see their confidence and well-being increase as a result of the security measures the funding has paid for. We are delighted that Mr Ellis was able to come out and see the results for himself.”
The People Power Fund is one part of £2.5 million of Commissioner’s Community Funding for 2014/15. The Commissioner’s Locality Deal Fund has allocated money to local areas through working in partnership with local district and borough councils. Meanwhile, the
Commissioner’s Proceeds of Crime Fund is seeing 100 per cent of funding received by Staffordshire Police going back into local communities, through grants of between £3,000 and £15,000. It is made up of money seized from criminals as Staffordshire Police continue to strip offenders of their assets.
Successful projects in all three funding streams will deliver what’s important to local people based on the four priorities set out in the Commissioner’s Safer, Fairer, United Communities Strategy – tackling the root causes of crime through early intervention, supporting victims and witnesses better, reducing reoffending and increasing public confidence.
