Bedfordshire Lottery money for better mental health

Area:

East of England

Programme:

Reaching Communities

Release date:

30 1 2007

Reach Out – A Mental Health Charity based in Bedfordshire has received £127,574 to run a community based mutual help service. The time bank scheme will help reduce social isolation for people who are retired, unemployed or recovering from a long-term mental illness.

Brian O’Shea, Project Leader of Reach Out – A Mental Health Charity, said: “Thanks to the Reaching Communities programme, we will now be able to set up and operate a time bank in Bedford. Time Banks Of The Ouse will enable local people, including people recovering from mental health problems, to exchange skills and services such as decorating, electrical and gardening skills, and give each other practical support in an organised and community enhancing way.

“Time bank members will give their time to others by doing something they are good at or enjoy for free, and in return can have things done for them, which they otherwise may find hard or inconvenient to do. Every time bank member’s time is equally valued and for every hour of practical support given they receive a time credit of one hour which is recorded in the time bank by a time broker and which can be saved, exchanged or donated.”

Also receiving Lottery money in Bedfordshire is the African Community Centre, with a grant of £484,115 to provide a range of services for people with mental health issues to reduce social isolation and to help further engage with the local community. This new project will offer in-house advice and guidance, arrange social and leisure events to increase self-confidence and social skills, provide training to boost employment opportunities, and signpost statutory services. The organisation will also provide work experience opportunities for 12 people each year.

In Essex, other projects being awarded funding today by the Big Lottery Fund includes the Hamelin Trust in Basildon which will use its £283,591 grant to train participants in accredited courses in horticulture, health and safety and manual handling, allowing them to leave the project with a CV and portfolio of achievements.

The Southend Mencap Advocacy Service has received a grant of £128,039. Concentrating in Southend, Rochford, Rayleigh and Castle Point, the project will support the needs of people with learning disabilities, their parents and carers.  

Sara Betsworth, Big Lottery Fund Head of Region for the East of England, said: “The Big Lottery Fund are giving out over one million pounds this month to four projects across Essex and Bedfordshire under the Reaching Communities programme. These fantastic projects will offer local people a brighter future, help to build stronger, healthier and more active people and communities.”

Further information

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours contact: 07867 500 572
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone:  845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• Reaching Communities is part of the Big Lottery Fund’s portfolio of new programmes. Following an intense and comprehensive process of consultation with stakeholders and the general public over the last year, the Fund has undertaken to distribute 60-70% of its funding to the third sector.  At least one-third of BIG funding will be demand-led and lightly prescribed.  In England, this will amount to at least £600 million over the period 2005-2009. This commitment will be met from a variety of funding streams, including, Reaching Communities, Awards for All, part of the Young People’s Fund, Community Buildings, Advice Services and the People’s Millions.
• The Big Lottery Fund rolls out close to £2 million in lottery good cause money every 24 hours which together with other Lottery distributors means that across the UK most people are within a few miles of a Lottery-funded project.
• The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004.
• On 1 December 2006 the Big Lottery Fund was officially established by Parliament and at the same time assumed the residual responsibilities of the dissolved National Lottery Charities Board (Community Fund) the New Opportunities Fund, and the Millennium Commission. The Fund is building on the experience and best practice of the merged bodies to simplify funding in those areas where they overlap and to ensure Lottery funding provides the best possible value for money.

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