Eight Surrey community projects are to benefit from grants totalling more than £97,000 thanks to funding from the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Community Safety Fund. The £509,000 Fund allows the PCC to offer direct financial support to projects and initiatives in Surrey helping to improve community safety and deliver on the People’s Priorities.
The eight projects are:
Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre – Part-Time Independent Sexual Violence Advisor
£22,000 awarded to employ a part-time Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) to offer support, guidance and referrals to relevant specialist agencies to victims of sexual assault. The officer will also accompany clients to court, to police appointments, medical appointments and they will ensure the client is kept informed of progress.
Surrey Fire and Rescue – Youth Engagement Scheme
£21,220 awarded to support the delivery of six youth engagement courses which are designed to provide an opportunity for young people to work with the Fire Service and take part in a variety of challenges that help to build self-esteem, develop leadership, improve communications skills and increase attainment and school attendance.
Surrey Fire and Rescue – Safe Drive Stay Alive
£9,000 awarded to support the delivery of the production Safe Drive Stay Alive, in particular to fund the cost of transport. Safe Drive Stay Alive is an educational performance aimed at reducing death and injury among Surrey’s young drivers. The performance is highly charged and emotive and has proved successful in making young people consider their behaviour when driving. The scheme has been running since 2005 and has reached 80,000 young people.
Eagle Radio – Online Social Media Law and Ethics initiative
£31,500 has been awarded to Eagle Radio to deliver an assembly style course to Surrey’s state secondary schools to raise awareness of and reduce cyber-bullying, increase online safety of young people and explain the do’s and don’ts of social media. It is anticipated that the project will engage with 63 schools and approx. 63,000 young people.
Surrey Police – SHOut Multi Agency Youth Conference
£5,000 awarded to fund two youth conferences in the East and West of the county. The conference, which has been successfully run before in the North of the county, aims to speak to 150-200 young people aged between 14 and 19 about personal safety, anti-social behaviour and drugs and alcohol.
Safer Runnymede – Walton Leigh Recreation Ground Clean Up
£3,000 has been awarded to reduce anti-social behaviour in the local recreational ground by targeting police activity, supporting a community clean up, relocating park furniture and improving the parks facilities and to support a community day. It is anticipated that the project will support the community in reporting and tackling anti-social behaviour, improve community relationships with service providers and increase the use of the public space.
Surrey Police – Redhill Youth Festival
£1,000 awarded to support a local youth festival which aims to engage with young people in the local area and show them what positive activities and opportunities are available in the community. There are a wide number of partners involved including; Surrey Police, Local Authorities, housing trusts, local faith organisations and youth support services.
Mediation North Surrey – Training and Development
£5,000 awarded to support the charity in training and developing its mediators. Mediation is used specifically to help resolve community disputes particular around neighbourhood issues, anti-social behaviour and in some cases harassment. The service received high praise from the local Surrey Police Neighbourhood Teams who see the mediation service as a valuable additional support to their community work.
Kevin Hurley, Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey said:
“Surrey is blessed with many fantastic groups and individuals with great ideas for making things better in our county. By not ignoring problems and looking to do something positive about them, they embody the zero-tolerance ethos. With the Community Safety Fund I can support their ideas and help make them a reality.
“These projects will make a real difference, supporting victims, protecting our children and young people, reclaiming public spaces and helping solve community disputes. They were compelling bids and I thank those involved for their hard work on behalf of Surrey’s residents.”
More funding is available from the PCC’s Community Safety Fund. If you are interested in applying:
Proposals for funding for local projects should be submitted to the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for consideration. Applications should be for a maximum of £5,000, however in exceptional circumstances the PCC will consider requests for funding above £5,000.
Applications for funding will be subject to consideration by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner against a series of criteria to ensure that they meet the aims of the Police and Crime Plan.
To ensure value for public money, successful bids will be required to provide evidence of spend and the outcomes/impact of the project at agreed points in the year.
More information on the scheme, including the application form and criteria for successful bids, is available at the Surrey PCC website: https://www.surrey-pcc.gov.uk/the-pccs-community-safety-fund/