Groups across Warwickshire working to support and reduce the impact of COVID on their local community have been awarded grant funding.
Warwickshire County Council awarded the funding to groups and initiatives through an application process which allowed the groups to detail how they support their local community and the impact the funding will have to help them achieve their goal.
The awarded initiatives each focus on building community capacity to improve the health and wellbeing of predominantly ethnically diverse communities living in Warwickshire by focusing on one or more of the following:
- Reducing social isolation
- Mental health and wellbeing
- Unemployment
- Physical health
The funding follows a recommendation in the Director of Public Health's annual report to understand communities and co-design services and initiatives to reduce health inequalities, enabling residents to recover from the impacts of COVID-19 and improve their health and wellbeing.
Margaret Bell, portfolio holder for Adult Social Care and Health at Warwickshire County Council said: “Supporting our residents to reduce the impact of COVID is a key priority for Warwickshire County Council.
“We know that COVID has had a greater impact on Warwickshire’s ethnically diverse communities and the grant funding is awarded to groups helping these communities recover and support one another, working to reduce inequalities and provide communities with the direct support that they need.”
The groups and initiatives are throughout the county, examples include:
Rugby Community Hub CIC - World Kitchen
- This project aims to deliver cooking sessions for the Ethnically Diverse Communities in Rugby. The aim is to teach English through joint cooking and conversation.
African and Caribbean Community Association – ACCA
- This project aims to combat loneliness and social isolation among the African and Caribbean elders of South Town in Leamington Spa by offering sessions for people to socialise and join in on various activities. The project raises awareness of health issues by hosting various speakers.
Community Welcome - Community Active
- This project provides support and sports activities for refugees and asylum seekers specifically in the Rugby area with the aim to improve mental and physical health, and reduce social isolation.
To view the full list of initiatives and find out about groups local to you click here.
To find out more about the groups and how to get involved, contact impactgrant@warwickshire.gov.uk.