The second round of the Community Fund opened in May
2018 and was originally set at £1 million. Due to the
number and quality of bids submitted, and as part of
the government’s commitment to early intervention and
prevention to tackle serious violence, the funding has
been increased to over £1.5 million.
These successful
bids, which were selected due to their commitment
to educating young people about the dangers of carrying
weapons, are set to receive up to £30,000 each.
Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability
said:
It is vital that the government continues to support
community groups who help young people build the
resilience they need to take positive steps in life
and steer clear of criminal activity.
Early intervention and prevention is vital to
tackling serious violence and I am delighted we are
able to increase the funding available to support
more organisations.
As we continue to deliver on the Serious Violence
Strategy I look forward to meeting and working with
more of these organisations.
The Community Fund was first launched last year and 47
charities across the country benefited from the
funding.
The second round of additional funding forms just one
of over 60 actions and commitments announced in the
Serious Violence Strategy and reiterates the importance
of early intervention to tackle the root causes of
serious violence, backed with £40 million of Home
Office funding.
Chief Executive of The Children’s Society, Matthew Reed
said:
We are delighted to be awarded this funding from the
Home Office, which will allow The Children’s Society
to deliver school-based support in Birmingham and an
emotional resilience programme in Newcastle.
Supporting young people to live safe and protected
lives free from exploitation and knife crime is more
important than ever.
This announcement comes just days after the Home
Secretary doubled the Early Intervention Youth Fund,
which is also part of the Serious Violence Strategy, to
£22 million. Police and crime commissioners (PCCs) who
work in partnership with community safety partnerships
(CSPs) or the equivalent can bid for support from the
Early Intervention Youth Fund to deliver projects which
steer young people away from violent crime.
