Final week for organisations to apply for a share of cash recovered from criminal activities

06 June 2024

Final week for organisations to apply for a share of cash recovered from criminal activities

West Yorkshire organisations have one week left to apply for a share of £500,000 of cash seized from criminals. 

Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin’s, Safer Communities Fund re-invests money recovered from criminal activities into community-based projects.

The Mayor is calling on organisations with an idea for how to make their local area safer to apply for a grant of up to £10,000 before the 13 June deadline. 

Mayor Brabin said: 

“Working with communities is central to our vision for building a safer, fairer West Yorkshire for all. 

“Over the past three years, we’ve supported over 280 organisations to make a positive difference in their local area, and we want to reach many more. 

“If you have a project that will help make your neighbourhood safer, we want to hear from you.” 

This latest announcement will bring the fund’s total to over £2.9 million since 2021. 

Previously funded projects have included: 

• Beyond the Margin who are using their funding to provide arts-based psychotherapy to young people in Bradford. 
• Colt Enterprise in Calderdale supports people recovering from addiction, ex-offenders, and people in long-term unemployment by offering educational sessions and work experience. 
• Support After Rape and Sexual Violence Leeds is using their funding to increase their support services to women and girls who have experienced sexual violence and abuse, including interpreting services for those whose first language is not English. 
• Masoom Care is providing a safe space and hosting a range of activities, including sports and art-based sessions, for young carers in Kirklees. 
• New College Pontefract is using their funding to raise awareness of harassment towards women and girls through displays in local community hubs and providing training to staff and students. 

Applications for this latest grant round close at midday on Thursday 13 June.  

Organisations across all five districts that are working to tackle one of the priorities of the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Plan are encouraged to apply. 

Also, for the first time, the fund is open to projects delivering the Build element of Clear, Hold, Build, a framework developed by the Home Office to tackle serious and organised crime. 

Projects that will be delivering in West Yorkshire’s three pilot areas, the BD3 area of Bradford, Harehills in Leeds, and Ashbrow in Kirklees, are also encouraged to apply. 

For more information, including how to apply, visit the Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund website. 

Lauren Batty, Founder and CEO of Beyond the Margin, said: 

“The Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund has enabled us to provide some much-needed arts based therapy to children who have experienced a number of significant traumatic events or experiences. 

“This project is helping to improve their attendance and engagement within the school environment through providing a safe  and supportive space for them to process their traumatic experiences and just be children.”

Jan De Villiers, CEO of Project Colt, said: 

“Here at Colt Enterprise we’ve been working for over 20 years to support thousands of people with their recovery journeys from addiction. 

“We work with people through three phases of recovery, supporting them to become contributing members of their communities.”

Katie Russell, CEO of Support After Rape and Sexual Violence Leeds, said:  

“We were delighted to receive a Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund grant in the last round.   

“It will help us strengthen our trauma-specialist therapeutic services for sexual violence and abuse survivors, particularly group work and longer-term counselling, and contribute to the increasing costs of interpreting services.” 

Sobia Masood, Founder of Masoom Care said: 

“At Masoom Care we give our young carers a safe platform to be children without thinking of their caring responsibilities. 

“Thank you so much to the Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund for supporting young carers in our communities.” 

Vicky Marks, Principal of New College Pontefract, said: 

"Providing a safe environment for our young people is an essential part of our day-to-day activity as a college.  

“Inspired by suggestions from our female students, our project seeks to make the local environment safer for young women. 

“This will be through a publicity campaign and through training designed to encourage both men and women to be better informed about issues connected to women's safety, including harassment, micro-aggression and becoming an 'active bystander'."