Community groups awarded ₤45k to keep 8,500 young people safe over Autumn ½ Term

MORE than 8,500 young people will be able to enjoy safe activities this Halloween and Bonfire Night, thanks to funding raised by the Police from the sale of stolen goods. Merseyside's Police Commissioner Jane Kennedy have announced that the 24 community projects that will receive a share of funding from the Police Property Act (PPA) Fund which directs money raised through the sale of unclaimed stolen goods or property recovered by the Police that cannot be returned to its owners into worthwhile causes.

For the last 3 years, the Commissioner has concentrated the money on helping community organisations to run activities and projects over the busy autumn period which keep young people safe and divert them away from getting involved in anti social or criminal behaviour.

The successful organisations from this round of funding will run a host of projects which will complement Merseyside Police and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service's Operation Banger plans with the aim of keeping a total of 8,595 young people engaged in safe and supervised activities.

Jane said:- "Halloween and Bonfire Night are a time of fun and excitement for many people across Merseyside and there are some fantastic events being held. Sadly, though, it is also a time when sometimes the fun can get out of hand and lead to young people getting involved in behaviour which can become intimidating, anti social or even dangerous to other members of the community. This means it is often a very busy period for both Merseyside Police and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service. By funding these youth projects across Merseyside, my aim is to help thousands of young people enjoy the festivities in a safe and enjoyable way at organised and well managed events. This will help to ensure they don't get involved in any activities that could either put themselves or others in harm's way. It could also prevent them from getting involved with behaviour that they may come to regret in the future. It will also help to relieve the strain on our emergency services during this critical period, complementing the excellent diversionary work the Police and Fire Service already carry out and making sure people can enjoy the celebrations during the holiday season. For this year's successful organisations, even a small cash boost can make a huge difference and will enable them to run some fantastic grassroots projects which really engage with young people's imaginations while keeping them safe."

A total of 72 applications were received for the funding, amounting to requests for more than ₤230,000. The bids were shared with community safety partners before being reviewed by a panel from the Commissioner's Office and the Community Foundation for Merseyside, who manage the fund on the PCC's behalf.

As a result, 11 organisations in Liverpool and five initiatives in Sefton were awarded funding, with 4 initiatives in Wirral, 2 in Knowsley and 2 in St Helens all benefitting. Much of the funding was focused in 'hotspot' areas where communities have been identified as most susceptible to threat and risk.

Among the successful organisations were The Hive, Wirral Youth Zone, which received ₤3,000 to run "HiveAgeddon: The Survivors" scarefest for more than 2 weeks, reaching 2,600 young people. In St Helens, the Under Construction Crew were among the successful organisation. They were awarded funding to run a hip hop project for more than 200 young people through the ½ term.

In Liverpool, 150 young people will benefit from extra football sessions, at the Rhys Jones Centre, in Croxteth, while in Kensington, Park Options Ltd will be running 'Terrigfied' which will see families and young people get together for a lantern procession, haunted graveyard and Dracula's cave. Anfield Boxing Club will use ₤2,000 to run a series of targeted sessions, offering young people the change to complete an England Boxing Leader Course, while the Garston Adventure Playground will have activities including haunted trails, a Mischief Night disco and a playscheme for 100 young people.

The PPA fund is administered by the Community Foundation for Merseyside, (CFM) on behalf of the Commissioner. CFM holds funds from philanthropic individuals and organisations who wish to support deserving causes in Merseyside and Lancashire.

CFM's Senior Programmes Manager James Proctor said:- "We are proud to be working with Merseyside's Police Commissioner and administering the Police Property Act fund. This fund is very popular and the decision making panel had some extremely difficult choices to make with so many valuable projects presented. We feel the projects supported will make a huge impact in communities at this time of the year and wish them every success."

For further information on information on the Community Foundation please visit the fund's website.

Read about some of the great work being done by the successful applicants and find out about the grants which have been awarded on the Commissioner's website.

Needles 'scarier than ghosts' as Halloween poll highlights fears of insulin injections

INJECTING yourself with a needle is 3 times scarier than ghosts and more frightening than watching a Halloween horror movie; according to a survey highlighting people's biggest fears.  With ghoulish goings on planned for the annual witching hour on 31 October 2018, the poll looked at what brings people out in a cold sweat.

Spiders topped the survey of 2,000 people launched to mark 31 October 2018, with almost 1 in 3 people admitting they are terrified of the creepy crawlies.  2nd on the list was needles, with 11% of those surveyed saying the thought of injecting themselves is enough to leave them trembling with fear.

Horror movies such as:- 'Scream,' 'The Shining' or 'The Exorcist' are the worst nightmare for 10% of people in the poll while an impressive 24% said they weren't scared by anything at all. Just 4% said they were scared of ghosts.

The survey was carried out by TickleFLEX, which makes an award winning, universal fit insulin injection aid that fits on the end of your insulin pen and ensures pain free injections with reduced bruising and anxiety for both children and adults

These results make for painful reading as self injections are a reality for millions of people living with diabetes, meaning needles are an essential part of everyday life.  Bola Lafe, Managing Director of Opus Innovation, which represents TickleFLEX globally, said:- "If you have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes you may be insulin dependent and be required to inject yourself with an insulin pen several times a day. When you administer your insulin injection you might hit a nerve, you might press a bit hard and inject insulin into muscle, or, like many of the people in this survey, you might have a deep seated fear of needles. TickleFLEX does not cure your diabetes but it does make injecting insulin easier to live with. And it's certainly less scary than a ghost."

According to the OnePoll survey, the South East is the Region where you are most likely to meet a nervy needlephobe, closely followed by Yorkshire, the South West and the North West.

Men are more likely to be scared of needles, with 13% admitting they can't stand the sight of them, compared to 9% of women.

The fear appears to subside with age, with less than 1 in 10 of those aged over 55 saying they were scared of needles compared to 14% of 18 to 24 year olds.

TickleFLEX scooped an award earlier this month at the prestigious QiC Diabetes awards, being commended in the:- 'Type 1 Specialist Service; Children, Young People and Emerging Adults' category. The product has also just been shortlisted for the Diabetes Professional Care Industry Awards in association with the Diabetes Times, with the ceremony taking place on:- 'World Diabetes Day' on 14 November, 2018.

For more information about the TickleFLEX device, which costs ₤14.95, visit:- TickleFlex.com or email:- enquiries@tickleflex.com.

Number of People Working Night Shifts is up by 18,000 in 5 years, within the North West

AS the clocks go back to mark the beginning of British Winter time, the TUC is urging greater protection for the millions of UK workers who regularly work through the night.  New analysis published by the TUC shows that the number of people who work night shifts has increased by 151,000 (5%) since 2013 to reach more than 3 million (3,138,000). Britain's night workers now account for 1 in 9 (11.5%) employees.

► Regional night working...

The biggest increase in night working has been in the West Midlands (+49,000), followed by the East of England (+48,000) and the East Midlands (+28,000). The North West has seen the number of people working night shifts increase by 18,000 since 2013. However, night working in Scotland has declined sharply (-55,000) and also fell in the South East (-21,000).  The South East and London still tie for the highest number of night workers (378,000 each) even though they also have the lowest percentage of employees working nights (9.9% each). The highest percentage is still found in the North East (14.9% of employees), followed by Wales (14.2%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (13.1%).

► Women...

Women accounted for ⅔ (66.8%) of the increase, with 101,000 more women working at night than 5 years ago. While male night workers still outnumber women night workers (1,891,000 compared to 1,247,000), the growing employment in health and social care is a key reason behind more women working night shifts.

► Gender split...

The 2 most common professions for female night workers are care work and nursing, which together account for 561,000 women employees working at night. The number of men working at night has been boosted by an extra 259,000 road transport drivers and 17,000 social care assistants.

► Over 50's..

The number of night workers over 50 has risen by 114.5%. Most night workers are aged between 30 and 49 (1,393,000) but increased employment in social care and the trend towards working past 65 have spread the age profile of night working. There are now 674,000 people aged 50 to 59 working at night (an increase of 94.8% in the last 5 years), while the current total of 197,000 night workers aged 60 plus is a 392.7% increase on 2013.

► Retail, transport and health and social services...

3 industries account for most of the increase in night working in the past 5 years. Wholesale and retail, transport and distribution and health and social care have added 136,000 extra night workers between them.

Commenting on the analysis, TUC Regional Secretary Lynn Collins said:- "Tonight, most of us can look forward to an extra hour in bed. But as we sleep, millions of workers will be busy keeping the UK ticking over. Whether its nurses looking after patients or taxi drivers getting us home safely, we all depend on Britain's army of night workers. Night work is hard and can disrupt family life. So, we should show our appreciation for the sacrifices night workers make by ensuring they have good rights and protections at work. Employers must play fair and play safe, or public safety will be put at risk and the families of night workers will suffer."

Fairness and safety for night workers, the TUC recommends that the UK:-

► Government should tighten the rules on night working. Workers should be able to enforce their rights at Employment Tribunal.

► Employers and unions should ensure that night working is only introduced where necessary.

► Where night working is introduced into a workplace, no existing workers should be forced to work nights.

► Shift patterns should be negotiated between unions and employers.

► Workers should have some element of control over their rotas, so that they can ensure that the shifts they work are best suited to their individual circumstances.

► Government should legislate to ensure that workers always have sufficient notice of their shift patterns, so they can make arrangements well in advance. Changes at short notice should be compensated.

► Pay for those working nights should properly reflect the likely additional costs of childcare and inconvenience that night shifts can entail.

► The growth in night work has now tailed off and is expected to flat line in 2019..

However the TUC is concerned about the increased number of employees at risk, which explains the longer term analysis presented above.  Also we would love to know your thoughts on the issues raised by the TUC.  Do they affect you and you family?  Please email your thoughts to:- News24@SouthportReporter.com.