Ipswich/Norwich: £500,000 From Lottery To Help Families

18 June 2013, 06:00

£500,000 of lottery funding is being given to charities in Norwich and Ipswich who help struggling families to cope.

The Big Lottery Fund is awarding the money as part of a fund being spent across the East of England.

The fund's called the Reaching Communities programme and it gives cash to good causes including projects supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged families and young people with a range of issues including homelessness, poor mental health, unemployment and addiction.

In our region two projects have been chosen:

A new project in Ipswich which aims to provide support to hard to reach, vulnerable and disadvantaged families considered ‘at risk’ has been awarded £325,599. CSV will promote positive relationships and a stable family structure through learning together and regular mentoring by volunteers. The project will particularly focus on young mothers vulnerable to exploitation, fathers needing development to become good role models and assisting families to access services including migrant families and those who have language barriers. CSV will provide activities including parenting programmes, women’s empowerment training (freedom and domestic abuse), health and wellbeing workshops and community fun days.

Also supporting families, Home Start Norwich has been awarded £286,606 to expand a project which aims to improve the mental health and wellbeing of children and families in Norwich. The project will recruit and provide specialist training for 65 new volunteers and a new co-ordinator to deal with the increase in number of families being supported. The volunteer will be matched with families as a befriender to strengthen parent child relationships and to provide a support network for parents. Many of the families who will be visited by volunteers each week will be facing issues such as overcrowded homes, unemployment, deprivation, lack of parenting skills, lack of effective role models, social and economic isolation and lack of access to health services.