Education project for bullied teenagers wins £20,000 grant from Police and Crime Commissioner’s Community Fund
A project to provide learning activities to young people with Asperger’s syndrome who have dropped out of school has been awarded a £20,000 grant from the Police and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan’s Community Fund.
Many of the young people have experienced being bullied at school, and have been too traumatised to resume any form of education.
However, backed by the Community Fund grant, Tang Hall SMART Community Interest Company is launching a new project called Safe Base that is designed to meet their needs.
“Some of these children haven’t left their bedroom or spoken to anyone for months,” said manager Sue Williamson, who used to be special educational needs co-ordinator at the now closed Burnholme Community College.
“Until now, there haven’t been any services appropriate for them. But with our project, we want to give them a way back to life, a bridge to enable them to do more and be more and, hopefully, a path back into education.”
The initiative will run on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and will provide an individual package of activities for each child, drawing support from a wide number of volunteers.
The Community Fund was launched by Commissioner Julia Mulligan in May 2013 and is specifically for organisations and community groups who need money to help fund a new community safety project. Projects eligible for grants from £500 to £20,000 include extra-curricular activities for children and young people as well as schemes supporting victims, preventing crime or anti-social behaviour, promoting safety and community cohesion.
Julia said: “I want to make it as easy as possible for people to apply for this money and to be successful in their applications.
“Anyone interested can call the Community Fund Helpline for guidance by calling 101 and asking for Community Fund.”