Funding for youth groups in Carlisle area

Youth groups in the Carlisle have benefited by more than £18,000 this month thanks to grants from Carlisle Local Committee. 

The Local Committee approved a grant of £5,230 to the Living Well Trust to help fund a youth bus in Denton Holme offering after school activities for younger children and evening sessions for older children one night a week. 

The Midnight Basketball Project received a grant of £7,000 toward funding basketball sessions accompanied by workshops on important youth issues, such as drugs awareness and sexual health, at William Howard School in Brampton, Lochinvar at Longtown and Caldew at Dalston. 

The Face to Face project received a £5,000 grant from the Local Committee towards running a minibus outreach scheme targeting young people in urban and rural areas in Carlisle. It is hoped that the bus will specifically target areas where there is not much provision or where the area is isolated. The bus would hold a selection of sport and art equipment and would be staffed by youth and play workers. 

Councillor John Collier, Chairman of Carlisle Local Committee, said:   

"Young people from all areas of Carlisle and with a range of different interests have benefited from our funding this month. The projects are all worthy recipients. Most of them are receiving funding from a number of organisations and show how partner organisations working together can get results. The Youth Bus project in Denton Holme will provide facilities for young people which are currently scare in that particular area. Denton Holme has been identified as having a lack of appropriate facilities for young people and this bus, if it gets off the ground, should help remedy that situation. The Midnight Basketball project is aimed at helping young people in rural locations benefit from exercise and educational workshops. The Face to Face project, which would tackle a multitude of youth issues, has received multi agency funding and is aimed at reducing the likelihood of young people committing or being victims of crime and related issues including health inequalities community growth and access to play. I am sure many people will benefit. " 

Other groups to receive funding include:   

• the Passport to Activities Healthy Living initiative. Local Committee provided a £1,000 grant towards the cost of funding a scheme designed to facilitate free access for 11 to 14 year olds to leisure facilities at the Sands Centre and is aimed at encouraging physical activities and promoting a healthier lifestyle. 
• Carlisle Skatepark, which has been very well received since it opened last year, received a £500 grant towards a graffiti project in which young people and a graffiti artist will work together to decorate the area.
• Cumbria Association of Clubs for Youth People received a £7,500 grant towards its ongoing work in developing and supporting work to youth groups in the area.