Home Office awards additional £346,000 to fight hate crime

The Home Office has today announced that five groups will receive part of a £346,000 pot through the Hate Crime Community Projects Fund (HCCPF).

The community fund, which is in its third year, has been awarded to groups across the country, which will work with local communities to tackle hate crime in their areas.

Minister for Countering Extremism Baroness Williams said:

This Government is committed to tackling hate crime in all of its forms. No one should be the subject of verbal or physical abuse simply because of their identity or their beliefs.

I am delighted to award funding to these innovative projects, so communities can engage local people to ensure intolerance has no place in our society.

In the latest round of funding, the following organisations have been successful:

• Protection Approaches - will work to provide training for frontline staff and raise awareness on how to report hate crimes in Newham, London
• The East European Resource Centre - will work with Eastern European communities in London, the West Midlands and Greater Manchester to help build understanding and resilience of hate crime and what to do if they have been a victim
• Nottingham BID - will work at tackling hate crime in the night time economy, particularly in LGBT venues;
• Barnardo’s - will work to raise awareness of disability hate crime in schools in Gwent
• The Proud Trust - will work alongside the British Transport Police and major train companies to tackle LGBT hate crime on public transport, including awareness raising campaigns and outreach in schools

The fund was launched in 2016, as part of the Hate Crime Action Plan. The government committed £900,000 over three years to provide grants for local community organisations to help tackle all forms of the crime.

With the announcement of 5 new projects for this financial year, the government will have supported 21 projects under this fund.

Barnardo’s project manager Marisa Moon said:

Barnardo’s are delighted to have been awarded funding through the Hate Crime Community Project Fund to establish our Blaenau Gwent Aware project.

This funding will allow us to help young people understand the impact of disability hate crime, the consequences of identity related bullying, and reduce the number of child victims across secondary school and community settings.

Protection Approaches project manager Andy Fearn said:

The Hate Crime Community Project Fund is an essential resource supporting local communities to build resilience against prejudice and division.

Thanks to the Fund, Protection Approaches and the London Borough of Newham will be launching a pioneering project encouraging community-led reporting of hate crime, breaking down the barriers that prevent victims from reporting while also strengthening community relationships throughout the Borough.

Eastern European Hate Crime programme manager Florina Tudose said:

Eastern European Hate Crime SOS project is run by East European Resource Centre (London), in collaboration with Europia (Manchester), and Polish Expats Association (West Midlands), providing free advocacy, support and counselling to Eastern European victims of hate crime.

At this particular time, HCCPF fund makes an important contribution, enabling us to work in raising awareness and encouraging reporting and also increasing the emotional resilience of our communities through culturally and linguistically appropriate support services for EE victims of hate incidents.