A further nine community groups and charities working to tackle important issues including domestic abuse, criminal child exploitation and violence against women and girls have received grants in the latest round of Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson’s Community Action Fund.
Every year the PCC’s Community Action Fund is delivered in partnership with Wiltshire Community Foundation and supports voluntary groups to deliver activities in line with priorities set out in PCC Philip Wilkinson’s #MakingWiltshireSafer Police and Crime Plan 2022-25.
Applications for funding were considered by the OPCC panel earlier this month.
Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson said: “This has been the most popular funding window of my Community Action Fund by far, with us receiving a record number of applications.
“Whilst we would like to be able to grant funds to every group who applies, we have had to narrow them down to the ones we believe best contribute towards my Police and Crime Plan.
“The latest successful applicants have demonstrated a clear commitment to making Wiltshire safer though voluntary and charitable community projects, and my office is committed to supporting the work of these and others.
“Please don’t let the popularity of the fund put you off applying, as we will always do what we can to defer or part fund applications, even if we can’t grant the full amount. We want to help as many groups as possible and I would encourage all eligible groups to apply.”
Fiona Oliver joint Chief Executive of Wiltshire Community Foundation said: “We are delighted to be working with the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner to deliver their Community Action Fund Grants.
“The programme is supporting charities and voluntary groups to undertake projects which will help to create stronger, safer and more resilient communities which fits perfectly with our vision of seeing more people thrive across our Wiltshire and Swindon.”
The following groups were all selected for funding:
Swindon Advocacy Movement - £5,000
Providing one-on-one advocacy to individuals residing in Swindon and living with a learning disability and/or autism and who are going through court proceedings or wish to take an issue to court.
This will include helping them to understand their rights and choices, accessing other support like legal aid, mental health support or help from other services, and challenge where they have not been treated with dignity and respect or received reasonable adjustments.
The Platform Project - £5,000
Providing programmes that support unemployed young people aged 16 -24, an alternative Education programme for young people aged 11-18 at risk of exclusion or have dropped out / not attending school due to additional needs, and a Therapeutic Mentoring programme for young people referred from education institutions, the local authority teams and local mental health services to have a relationship-based mentor who is also a qualified a therapist.
Swindon Women's Aid - £5,000
Expanding the ‘Open to Change’ service offer to include a behaviour change worker who will be co-located within the custody suite at Gable Cross Police Station. They would be on hand to support officers with identifying perpetrators and assessing risk and would take the lead on approaching the individual who has been arrested about the possibility of joining the programme and completing initial assessments.
They would also provide regular update training on identifying and working with DA victims and perpetrators.
Escapeline - £5,000
Delivery of 25 targeted one-to-one support sessions to those young people most vulnerable to exploitation by County Lines gangs, delivered by a Youth Worker in 1-hour sessions during school time. Delivery of 7 primary school workshops and 4 secondary school assemblies, raising awareness of child exploitation and grooming and teaching protective strategies.
FearFree - £3,377
Free the Night event on 7 March 2025 which is aimed at empowering local women and girls to feel safe and confident in public spaces at night while raising awareness of domestic abuse and the local domestic abuse charity FearFree.
Participants will be welcomed into the FearFree Charity Shop in the centre of Trowbridge and given the opportunity to decorate creative banners and signs raising awareness of domestic abuse, its statistics and empowerment messages for women and girls.
They will be invited to pick up glow sticks to improve visibility and join a fully marshalled and guided route (around 45 min) through the town, stopping at the town park, before returning to the charity shop.
Sounds Like Women - £5,000
Work to enable abused girls to build their confidence, knowledge and resilience in regards to the domestic violence and sexual abuse issue, strength and self-esteem, and make them aware of resources and support available to them. The methodology/vehicle employed to achieve all aims and objectives will be music intervention/therapy and other creative arts like drama, art therapy or movement therapy, which has proved to be powerful and useful tools over the years we have carried out such work.
The sessions will be run in groups where shared experience, peer support will be taking place, all based on a Therapeutic Community Therapy model.
Waste Not Want Not - £5,000
The Fresh Start Scheme (FSS) will fund goods provided free of charge to people moving into an empty property with the intention of rebuilding their lives after suffering extreme circumstances. Common calls for assistance are for those that have fled domestic abuse, been previously homeless or are refugees from war torn countries.
Seeds4Success - £3,108
The group runs a number of open access youth work sessions and provides transport from a range of locations in south west Wiltshire to make them accessible to those young people living in rural locations and who are geographically isolated.
Open Access Youth work sessions are often the first point of contact a young person has with the charity and it is through these opportunities that young people develop the confidence to discuss issues or share concern they or their peers may be facing, ask for support or simply just gain more knowledge and information about risks they may be exposed to.
The Rise Trust - £5,000
Running of a Tuesday night youth club in Calne, as well as street based and safe space sessions on Thursday and Friday nights, and a wellbeing session on Thursdays which supports young people's mental health.
Using Calne town hall and Colemans farm community centre to have activities, informal youth work education and offer toasties, snacks, activities and somewhere safe and warm to be. When street based, there will be visits to Phelps parade Castlefield's, north end, the REC and other areas of Calne that young people are known to be. Youth workers also offer pop ups when street based, offering engagement/activities and warm drinks.
Applications will reopen in 2025. More information on the programme’s priorities and eligibility criteria is available here.
