Thousands of young people to benefit from safe, engaging activities this Halloween and Bonfire Night thanks to PCC's fund

MORE than 4,000 young people will be able to enjoy safe, engaging activities this Halloween and Bonfire Night, thanks to the Merseyside Police Commissioner's Youth Diversion Fund.

Local charities, organisations and community groups were invited to apply for a share of:- £50,000 to go towards projects to help keep young people active and engaged around the autumn half term, a time when emergency services typically report a spike in incidents of anti-social behaviour and criminal activity.

In total, 24 grassroots initiatives will each receive grants towards diverting young people away from crime and ASB, helping to ease the pressure on our emergency services and helping to maintain safety and security in the community.

Among the successful recipients are:-

'The Opening Doors Project' in Walton, who are holding a Halloween craft and food and fancy-dress event including:- a zombie walk for 600 young people. Powered by Hip Hop CIC will be helping to keep more than 100 young people off the streets in St Helens with graffiti sessions and break-dancing workshops as well as a Halloween BMXing, scooting, skateboarding and parkour event while Shy Lowen in Netherton will be providing an animal experience with horses designed to look like skeletons using chalk as well as scary scarecrow activities for 250 young people.

In Knowsley:- 'Evolving Mindset CIC' will be delivering a DJing course designed to empower and engage young people who are identified as being at risk of getting involved in ASB or crime in Prescot across Halloween, and Bonfire Night. All the funded projects will complement Merseyside Police and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service's annual operation focused on preventing and reducing ASB during the School break.

It is the 5th round of grants since the Commissioner launched her Youth Diversion Fund in August 2021, meaning 125 projects have now shared more than:- £350,000 to deliver projects benefiting a total of nearly 21,500 young people across Merseyside.

Merseyside's Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell said:- "Halloween and Bonfire Night are times when families and communities across Merseyside come together, with the vast majority enjoying fun and exciting times together. Sadly, though there will always be a minority who take things too far and see this period as an opportunity to engage in types of behaviour that can have a negative impact on our communities. Tackling anti-social behaviour is a priority for me and I'm very proud that through my Youth Diversion Fund, these fantastic organisations and initiatives can provide a variety of supervised activities and opportunities to a diverse range of young people with the aim of preventing ASB and crime. Historically, it is also a particularly busy time for the Police and the fire service. Through these grants, I want to help alleviate some of this extra pressure that our blue light services experience at this time of year, as well as supporting the excellent diversionary work already being carried out by Merseyside Police and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service. Our voluntary and third sector organisations are embedded in our communities, and they already know how to make the most of such grants to benefit their local areas. I'm excited to see the positive impact the vast array of imaginative and creative projects they have proposed benefits our young people and keeps our communities safe and secure."

The Youth Diversion Fund takes money raised through the Police Property Act which sees money from the sale of unclaimed stolen goods or property recovered by the Police which cannot be returned and diverts it towards worthwhile causes that benefit our communities and the people who live in them.

A total of 61 applications were considered by the panel, with a combined value of more than:- £157,438.

To avoid any duplication, bids were shared with partners before being reviewed by a panel from the Commissioner's team and the Community Foundation for Merseyside (CFM), who manage the fund on the PCC's behalf. CFM holds funds from individuals and organisations as donors who wish to support deserving causes in Merseyside.

As a result, 8 organisations in Liverpool were awarded funding, with 5 projects running:- on the Wirral, 5 in Sefton, 2 in St Helens, and 4 in Knowsley.

James Proctor from Community Foundation for Merseyside said:- "The Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner's Youth Diversion Fund is a fantastic funding programme that supports our local grassroots community organisations and their engagement work. Halloween and Bonfire evenings are fun events for children and young people though they are also traditionally times when anti-social behaviour can increase. Community organisations offer the chance for children and young people to get involved in organised events such as Halloween parties, sports and cultural activities delivered in a supporting environment which keeps them safe."

Liverpool City Region Bus Stations to become safe spaces for those facing distress or intimidation

LIVERPOOL City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram and Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell have launched a brand new initiative aimed at helping people who feel vulnerable, distressed or are being targeted with abuse or intimidation.

Bus Stations across the Liverpool City Region will become:- 'safe spaces' for those who need them. The idea is to provide a temporary refuge where people can go if they need help and support while they call and wait for a family member or friend to collect them, or for the Police to arrive.

The initiative is part of LCR Pride Foundation's:- 'You're Safe Here' scheme, funded by the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) which aims to reassure people that they are in a safe place that staff will know what to do if they are a victim of a crime, need help, or are faced with intimidation or other unacceptable behaviour.

Staff have also been trained to provide help and reassurance to those who need assistance, as well as information on available support services, with designated safe place champions at each major Bus Station in the City Region; Birkenhead, Bootle, Huyton, Liverpool ONE, Queen Square and St Helens.

'You're Safe Here' posters and digital signs will be displayed around travel hubs and Bus Stations, to let people know they can go to a member of staff and ask for help if they need to.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region said:- "Hundreds of thousands of people rely on our public transport network to get about every day. Every single 1 of them deserves to feel safe and comfortable when travelling around our Region but, sadly, we know this isn't always the case. In the Liverpool City Region, we're investing in better CCTV at bus stops and have secured the role of a second safety critical person on all our new:- £500m publicly owned trains, which are fitted with real time CCTV. We're making great progress:- but there's still more work to be done. While I wish people were never faced with situations where they feel vulnerable on our streets or public transport, we want to reassure them that, should they need it, our safe spaces mean that there's now always a place for them to go and someone to talk to."

Merseyside's Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell said:- "Merseyside is such a friendly, inclusive Region and we are determined to ensure everyone who lives, works and visits here feels safe. You're Safe Here and Safer Streets Merseyside are both initiatives I'm proud to be delivering focused on protecting people in our communities and increasing feelings of safety. It's fantastic that staff at our major Bus Stations have engaged with both these schemes so enthusiastically and have pledged to making these locations safe spaces for anyone who needs support. It's yet another example of how determined local people are to go out of their way to help others and make sure our Region is safe and welcoming for all."

Andi Herring, CEO of LCR Pride Foundation:- "When it comes to feeling safe, we shouldn't just be confined to the spaces or businesses that we are familiar with. Hundreds of thousands of people use our City's bus networks to get to work and for leisure and this commitment from the Combined Authority that all of the Region's Bus Stations will be 'You're Safe Here' accredited means that people can be reassured teams know what to do if they need support or feel unsafe. Safe Spaces are the newest initiative from the Safer Streets campaign, a:- £750m PCC led scheme which aims to increase safety around the transport network, particularly for women, across the Liverpool City Region. Other measures rolled out as part of the Safer Streets campaign include enhanced CCTV coverage at key transport hubs, new 'help points' linked to emergency services and a text message service which can be used to report concerns on the bus network and identify offenders."