Funding projects that help people stay independent
Birmingham: Tackling the blight of hoarding and the damage it can do to individuals and helping prevent falls in older people through dance.
These are just two examples of how the city council is funding projects that help keep people independent.
The Prevention and Communities Grants Programme is investing £4.9m in 49 projects across the city, just under half of which are new types of support and activity.
Alongside continued support for organisations such as Midland Mencap and Birmingham Samaritans, the council is funding a number of new projects, including:
- Chaos 2 Order offers training and awareness-raising as well as one-to-one support for compulsive hoarders.
- Dance to Health is a pioneering community dance project that combines evidence-based falls prevention with the creativity of dance for older people.
- Sailing for All improves access for people with disabilities.
- Gro Organic provides therapeutic gardening and arts activities in urban areas.
Councillor Paulette Hamilton, cabinet member for health and social care at Birmingham City Council, said: “I’m so pleased to be announcing the funding for these wonderful organisations and projects, both old and new. This is a really important part of our prevention strategy, which aims to help people stay as independent as possible and have a really good quality of life. So we’re investing in projects that aren’t necessarily traditional adult social care investments: providers of arts and cultural activities, digital skills and support for people who hoard.
“Dealing with hoarding for example may not be an obvious thing to fund, but it can be a major issue for people and have knock-on effects including damage to mental health, employment prospects and affect loneliness.
“Every project we fund addresses a range of issues including employment and skills, bereavement, affordable warmth, transport and mobility, digital inclusion and physical activity; expected outcomes are healthier lifestyles, increased social participation, living in housing which supports independence and having carers who feel more supported.”
A full list of organisations and projects given grants can be found here: https://brumnns.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/pc-prospectus-final.pdf
