St Giles Hospice in Whittington has been awarded £3,000 from the Police and Crime Commissioner’s People Power Fund.
Evidence shows that young people can sometimes turn to offending after a difficult loss or bereavement. The People Power Fund has helped the hospice to offer more support to young people and their families to reduce the risk of them getting involved in crime and disorder.
St Giles ran the family support group over four sessions to enable parents/carers and their children to talk about their loss in a safe environment and to work through any issues while grieving.
As part of his commitment to local communities, the Commissioner is providing £500,000 in 2014/15 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 communities throughout Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
Mr Ellis said: “It can be a very difficult and unsteady time for young people in some circumstances after they lose a loved one and can sometimes lead them into a difficult place which could include offending. Offering the right support at this time is crucial.
“The money we have provided from the Commissioners People Power Fund has allowed St Giles to increase their capacity to help more families and young people.”
Nikki Archer, head of supportive care at the hospice, said: “We recruited 15 volunteers to enable us to run this course and provided very thorough training to ensure they felt comfortable and confident to support the family members each session. All volunteers have expressed an interest to be a part of future groups which we hope to hold bi-annually.
“The chance to talk to others who have lost someone close to them and share their frustrations and worries has been invaluable.”
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.
For more details on funding opportunities visit www.staffordshire-pcc.gov.uk/fund
