- Area:
- East Midlands
- Programme:
- Reaching Communities
- Release date:
- 11 9 2012
An organisation which provides support to children who have suffered from abuse will be able to continue its vital work thanks to a £310,312 lifeline from the Big Lottery Fund (BIG).
IMARA in Nottingham offers children and their families support from the onset of a police investigation, during the judicial process and beyond. Without today’s grant, the service would have been forced to close.
The funding comes from BIG’s flagship Reaching Communities programme which helps those most in need and builds stronger communities. Other areas receiving grants in the East Midlands today include Bolsover and Chesterfield in Derbyshire, and Oadby & Wigson in Leicestershire. In total over £960,000 is being shared in the region.
The IMARA project will be based within the Nottingham Police Child Abuse Unit, which exclusively refers children to IMARA once an allegation has been made. If the family wants support, a meeting is arranged either at home or the unit. The organisation lets the family know what to expect next and provides them with advice on medical examinations, the legal process and therapy. Early intervention is extremely important to help address anxiety, sleep problem and flashbacks.
Child abuse can also cause an impact on school work and housing. IMARA can liaise with schools, exam boards and housing agencies as the victims often don’t want to live in the same house where the abuse took place.
Tamsin Baldwin, joint Executive Director and a trauma care worker, said: “This money from the Big Lottery Fund is so crucial. Without it we would have finished in March. Since we started in 2010 we’ve been surviving on small grants but this huge award means we have a secure future for the next three years so families will know they can get consistent help from us and which gives them the stability they need. It also means we will be able to help even more children and families cope with the trauma of child abuse and the impact it can have on the whole family.”
Rhubarb Farm CIC in Bolsover, North-East Derbyshire has received £239,961 for a new project providing a buddying system to unemployed volunteers with mental ill health who have anxiety, low self-confidence and low education qualifications. Rhubarb Farm is a social enterprise which aims to improve the lives of their most severely disadvantaged people in north-east Derbyshire and north-east Nottinghamshire. The funding will enable the farm to recruit staff to offer support to the volunteers, train them in horticulture, construction, advice on CV preparation, interview techniques and intensive one-to-one sessions to address mental health problems.
Parents living in the rural and isolated villages of the Chesterfield area will benefit from a £109,528 grant to develop exiting work by Staveley Area Toy Library to provide activities for parents and children under five. Parent-led toddler groups and toy libraries will be established focusing on deprived former mining communities where there is high unemployment and high rates of teenage and lone parents. An outreach worker will recruit and train volunteer leadership teams to take ownership of and be responsible for running the groups. The activities will be aimed at developing parenting skills and will later offer debt advice.
Oadby and Wigston Borough Council is receiving £116,056 grant to develop a pilot project aimed at supporting the residents of Boulter Crescent. A community inclusion officer will be based in one of the premises which will be turned into a ‘community flat’. Sessions will be provided including basic computing, drug and alcohol advice sessions, counselling for young people, MIND counselling and children’s health checks. The project is aimed specifically at single parents, men who were previously homeless and affected by mental health issues and people affected by drug and alcohol misuse.
Elderly Chinese people in poor health who are isolated from society are to be helped by the Nottinghamshire Chinese Welfare Association which is receiving a £187,999 grant. Staff and trained volunteers will make home visits to elderly and infirm people, making them aware of statutory services, assisting them with shopping and tidying the home. Home visits will also provide an opportunity to check they are living in acceptable conditions.
Mick McGrath, Big Lottery Fund’s Head of the East Midlands region, said: “It is hard to think of a more worthy cause than supporting abused children. So we are very pleased to be able to award more than £310,000 to IMARA to help children and their families cope with the trauma and impact that abuse can cause.
“Our Reaching Communities programme is aimed at helping those most in need and all of the grants we have made across our region will improve the lives of thousands of the most vulnerable people in society.”
Further Information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours media contact: 07867 500 572
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Ask BIG a question here: https://ask.biglotteryfund.org.uk
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Find BIG on facebook: www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFund
Notes to Editors
- The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
- BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since June 2004 BIG has awarded over £4.4bn.
- The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £28 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
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