£500,000 invested in diversionary activities for nearly 12,000 young people – Birkenhead News

As the school holidays begin, a staggering half a million pound injection is being invested in diversionary activities for almost 12,000 young people, focused on helping to ensure that violence continues to fall in our region.

The huge investment was announced by the region’s Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell and the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership (MVRP) through their new Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) designed to help prevent increases in violence and behavior antisocial on summer vacation. autumn half-term and other key periods by involving and supporting young people.

The money has been awarded to 30 grassroots community organizations across Merseyside to provide free, safe and positive activities for thousands of young people, helping them gain new skills, build confidence and resilience and fill their time with experiences memorable during the school holidays.

From youth workers going into hot spots to mental health courses and leadership training, the grants will be used to reach and support young people at risk, build their confidence and help them away from behaviors that could be harmful or dangerous.

Serious violence has already fallen by 23% in Merseyside over the past three years and in the last year alone there has been a 47.9% drop in hotspot areas.

This funding focuses on reducing these figures further by providing funding to organizations working with vulnerable young people and in areas most affected by cuts.

YES brings together two successful funding vessels – the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Youth Diversion Fund and MVRP’s Arts | Culture | The Sports Fund – to create a new youth super fund designed to provide larger grants to reach more young people through even more ambitious and engaging projects.

To mark today’s announcement, Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell and members of the MVRP are visiting one of the successful projects, Waterloo Hotshots CIC, which will use its funding to provide activities for up to 600 young people aged five and 12 years. .

The Sefton-based charity has been awarded almost £15,000 to work with young people in one of the region’s most deprived areas, offering free tennis training and a range of outdoor sports including dodgeball, rounders, dancing and running obstacle course as part of their holiday. club that will operate every day of the week during the summer.

They will also offer forest school activities such as den building and insect collecting in a woodland area on the club grounds, as well as arts and crafts sessions and evening boxing sessions. They will also use the funding to run three ‘Monster Smash’ events during the autumn half term.

Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell said: “From graffiti and art classes to music and DJ sessions, capoeira, boxing and football, our successful YES projects are set to provide a treasure trove of activities and opportunities for young people in our region, all focused on keeping them safe and their prevention. drawn into harmful behavior.

“We know that young people overwhelmingly want to spend their time doing something positive.

“But unfortunately, after years of budget cuts, those opportunities aren’t always available to them. We know that the summer school holidays, when there are long daylight nights with little for young people to do, can often be the time when they are vulnerable to being drawn into activities that are anti-social, criminal or even dangerous.

“Serious violence is already falling in our region. Through our youth empowerment programme, we are determined to prevent even more young people from being drawn into crime and instead give them the chance to try exciting new experiences, gain qualifications and broaden their horizons.

“By doing this, we are creating a brighter future for them, while helping to create nicer and better places for them to live and reducing the burden on the police at peak times of the year.”

Director of MVRP Superintendent Georgie Garvey added: “We strongly believe that violence is not inevitable – it is preventable – and the best way to stop it is to stand up and support young people to keep them safe.

“The large number of applications we received shows how much this investment in our young people is needed.

“It is also further proof of how many fantastic organizations we have in our region who are committed to supporting young people and helping them to develop and thrive.

“While I only wish we could have funded more organisations, I am really excited to see the fantastic range of diverse activities that will be offered to young people in our region by the 30 brilliant grassroots groups who have received this cash boost .”

The DA was announced in May, giving community and voluntary groups the chance to bid up to £25,000. A total of 183 organizations submitted bids with a total funding request of £3.5m.

Of the 30 successful organisations, 10 are based in Liverpool, eight in Sefton and four in Knowsley, St Helens and the Wirral.

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