Violence Reduction Partnership invests more than £200,000 to help young people unlock their potential through Arts, Culture, Sport activities

THOUSANDS of young people will have the chance to gain valuable skills, helping to unlock their potential and build brighter futures as Merseyside's Violence Reduction Partnership reveals the successful applicants for its Arts, Culture, Sport Fund.

Music making, drama workshops, boxing, yoga, and knife crime interventions are just some of the activities set to be delivered by the 18 charities, organisations and community groups who will benefit from a share of more than £200,000 from the Fund.

After inviting bids for the fund earlier this year, the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership (MVRP) have today confirmed the brilliant grassroots projects which have been awarded the funding to deliver initiatives focused on engaging and supporting young people, with funding focused on the areas of Merseyside which have seen the highest levels of violence and the biggest cuts to youth services.

As well as offering access to new opportunities, the Arts, Culture, Sport Fund is focused on helping young people to build their confidence, develop leadership skills and make positive decisions for the future, all helping to unlock the potential of young people across the Region.

A wide ranging and diverse selection of activities are being offered by the successful applicants including:- Future Yard CIC in Wirral which will engage with hundreds of young people through live music, offering some work experience places in sound checking.

Autism in Motion in Fazakerley is providing Special Educational Needs activities to:- 11 to 25 year olds, including:- abseiling, kayaking, yoga, and drama sessions whilst educating on exploitation, how to avoid it and what to do if it happens to them.

Community By Nature in Bootle is using a forest School themed experience as early intervention to educate children on the consequences of knife crime and teaching them how to safely use tools in a controlled environment.

As well as helping to steer young people away from trouble, parents are also being offered support with Beautiful New Beginnings in West Derby providing anger management support to mums and dads as well as 1 to 1 counselling sessions for children.

In Knowsley, Shakespeare North Trust will receive £12,705 to work with young people to redesign the Theatre's piazza through engaging discussion and workshops, whilst in St Helens Hip Hop CIC will deliver crime awareness workshops to year 6 and Secondary School pupils.

Last year, more than 8,500 young people benefited from activities and projects run by 20 grassroots organisations funded by the MVRP, resulting in some gaining qualifications in mental health awareness and 1st aid, as well as learning digital skills and taking part in street art sessions and sports camps.

Merseyside's Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell said:- "I'm delighted to announce the next round of successful bids for our Arts | Culture | Sport Fund. We know how important it is to give our young people the chance to try new experiences and gain skills and qualifications that can set them on a positive path and help to build brighter futures. Engaging young people with great, fun activities is vital if we want to help them reach their full potential and prevent them getting involved in activities which could lead to trouble, or harm to themselves or others. Sadly, we have seen the devastating impact that austerity and the cost of living increase has had on families in our Region. Those pressures, coupled with the desperate under funding of local Councils and youth services have seen opportunities for our young people decrease significantly in recent years. By investing in young people, our Arts | Culture | Sport Fund is entirely focused on reversing that trend by giving them the chance to access brilliant activities, projects and training opportunities that benefit them mentally, physically, and culturally and helping them make better choices for the future. From work experience placements to sporting sessions, drama classes, 1 to 1 mentoring and vital education work to tackle key issues including:- knife crime, exploitation and domestic abuse, these 18 projects have all been chosen because they will support and inspire our young people to achieve more, and I'm really excited to see how each of them progress over the coming months."

Superintendent Georgina Garvey, Temporary Director for the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership said:- "By providing funding to these fantastic grassroots organisations, our goal is to enable them to provide unique opportunities that support our young people, building their skillsets, increasing their confidence as well as their physical and mental health and creating a positive legacy. We had some wonderful applications that made the process of choosing these successful bidders all the more difficult, but we are delighted and really proud of the diverse range of initiatives that will be available to our young people through this funding. From hip hop workshops to yoga to football tournaments to residential retreats, we have a plethora of inspiring activities for young people to enjoy."

James Proctor, Programmes Manager at the Community Foundation for Merseyside said:- "We are proud to continue our work with the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership to deliver this funding to support a range of local community projects making a positive difference to young people's lives. The Funding awarded will help charitable groups in many different parts of Merseyside to deliver targeted projects using the positive impact of arts, culture and sporting activities to help both prevent and protect young people from experiencing violence."

1 year on the Police Commissioner reveals progress on Region wide Violence against Women and Girls Delivery Plan

MERSEYSIDE Police Commissioner has unveiled a progress Report detailing the achievements from the last 12 months in the work to tackle Violence against Women and Girls.

The 'Working in partnership to tackle Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Delivery Plan' was launched by Emily Spurrell a year ago, after an extensive consultation.

It sets out a clear ambition to protect women and girls who live, work and visit:- Merseyside, prevent violence, pursue offenders and ensure tackling VAWG is prioritised and treated with urgency.

The strategy, which was agreed by all political leaders and contributed to by nearly 50 partners across the Region, sets out 57 clear, straight forward and achievable actions which all agencies can deliver to help eradicate VAWG.

1 year on and ahead of International Day to End Violence against Women and Girls on 25 November 2023, the Commissioner released a progress Report detailing the successes and work that's ongoing to tackle VAWG, as well as the next steps.

Key achievements from the last 12 months include:-

• Vulnerability / Trauma-informed training delivered to more than 1,782 Police officers and staff to improve their interactions with victims.
  

• 131 Schools trained to have age appropriate conversations on misogyny, sexual harassment and peer onpeer abuse and a further
  

• 131 Schools taken part in the:- 'Send Me A Selfie' training delivered by the Ariel Trust.
  

• 51,600+ employees now have access to a Domestic Abuse Workplace Champion.
  

• 33 new 360degree cameras installed across Liverpool City Centre.
  

• £800,000 to tackle domestic abuse through early intervention programmes.
  

• £3.2m committed to support survivors of sexual violence.

To support these outcomes, the Crime Commissioner has:-

• Relaunched the Modern Slavery Network bringing partners and agencies together to redouble efforts to tackle the issue of slavery and trafficking and improve the support provided to victims.
  

• Secured an additional £100,000 funding for the Safer Streets Merseyside campaign making it clear there is No Excuse for sexual violence.
  

• Launched a:- 'guardian project,' with LJMU student volunteers trained to provide support to those who need it in Liverpool's night-time economy, such as helping people get home or providing emotional support.
  

• Secured £2.2m in uplift funding for domestic abuse and sexual violence services across Merseyside to provide a range of community-based support for victim-survivors.
  

• Offered free training to employers through the Domestic Abuse Workplace Scheme to ensure workplaces are safe places and by equipping staff to become Workplace Champions to help colleagues who may be at risk.
  

• Pledged a 5 year funding package to ensure access to specialist harmful practices support.
  

• Secured £200,000 to improve the safety of women and girls in St Helens traveling at night time, through enhanced CCTV and street lighting.
  

• Launched:- 'safe spaces' at each of the bus stations for anyone who feels vulnerable within travel centres and needs support.
  

• Explored opportunities to conduct a domestic abuse funding review to understand the demand for organisations supporting victim-survivors.
  

• Ongoing development of her commissioned Victim Care Merseyside hub which works with specialist sexual violence and domestic abuse services.

Earlier, the Commissioner presented an update on the delivery of the Region wide strategy to a forum of victim survivors and support organisations held at Tomorrow's Women Wirral, to deliver on her ongoing commitment to ensure that the voices of victim survivors are at the heart of this work.

The event provided feedback on the work done so far to tackle VAWG and included table discussions on the priorities for the year ahead to make our Region safer for all women and girls.

Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner, Emily Spurrell said:- "I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved in 1 year as a partnership to tackle Violence against Women and girls across our Region. I am absolutely committed to making Merseyside a safer place for all women and girls, and while there is still a long way to go, I thought it was important to hold this event to reflect on all the positive work that's been achieved to prevent violence, support victim survivors and make a real difference to the lives of women and girls across our Region. 1 year on, and we have already further enhanced the Police approach and equipped them with better resources to help them to support victims, introduced new and specialised teams, and increased the training for Police officers and staff who are working with vulnerable people every single day. Our work as a partnership has included putting new and improved protocols in place, provided vital financial investment for support services, as well as awareness campaigns that aim to change behaviour. These, plus many more achievements are all important steps in the efforts to create tangible change and ensure women and girls are safer."

Read the full:- 'Working in partnership to tackle Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Delivery Plan' by downloading this .PDF file.

This forum was the 1st in a line up of events and activities across the Region that will take place during the United Nation's 16 Days of Activism, which runs from the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls, that was on:- 25 November, an runs until Human Rights Day, on:- 10 December 2023.

To mark the start of the 16 day campaign, the Commissioner is hosting a community expo-style End Violence against Women and Girls event that was on:- Saturday, 25 November 2023.

The stalled event, began in the atrium at Mann Island, with VAWG charities and groups who are committed to ending gender based violence together to raise awareness of the scale of VAWG in our communities and what needs to be done to tackle it, while promoting the support available to all those affected across Merseyside.

As well as wide range of stalls, it featured a series of speeches and a candle lit vigil to remember those women and girls who have tragically lost their lives to gender based violence across Merseyside.

Emily added:- "The 16 days of campaigning that follow, continue to be crucial dates in my calendar. The event tomorrow is designed to demonstrate our shared and ongoing commitment to eradicating violence against women and girls and I would encourage anyone who has been affected or is committed to ending gender based violence to join us. Support will also be available for anyone who needs it."

Prior to the stalled event, the Police Commissioner will be supporting the No Excuse for Abuse March hosted by her Victim Care Merseyside partner Savera UK focused on raising awareness of so called:- 'honour' based abuse and harmful practices in our communities.

This event was held in Williamson Square, with survivor testimony, drumming, dance and other performances, before attendees marching to Mann Island to join the community expo.

During the United Nation's 16 Days of Activism, there will be a social media campaign running on the Police Commissioner's social media channels to highlight 16 key achievements from the VAWG delivery plan in more detail, from videos to interviews and more.

You can stay up to date with the campaign on the PCC's social media channels:- Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

To find out more on the Commissioners End Violence against Women and Girls event visit:- here.