Community projects making West Leeds safer have been boosted by a share of more than half a million pounds seized from criminals.
The funds, which were handed out by West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin at Dewsbury Minster, will support 68 projects across all of the region’s five districts.
Successful projects in West Leeds include:
- Armley-based Meshebah Community Interest Company which works with ethnic minority groups.
- Leeds Irish Health and Homes in Wyther Lane, Kirkstall. The project supports the Irish community across Leeds.
- Domestic abuse project Behind Closed Doors in Armley, but works across Leeds.
Amongst the grant recipients was The Pudsey Community Project, which supports people in Pudsey, Calverley, Farsley, Swinnow, Tyersal, Rodley and Woodhall. It offers a range of services including food aid support, a children’s clothes reuse scheme andmore.
Director of the Pudsey Community Project, Richard Dimery, said: “Pudsey Community Project exists to transform Pudsey and its surrounding areas, with and for the local community, especially those who are most vulnerable and disadvantaged.
“We are thrilled to be receiving funding from the Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund to help us bring together our youth provision with a new programme for mentoring year 6 and high school students to prevent them being led into antisocial behaviour or complex mental health problems.
“We will be training and supporting volunteers to support some of the fantastic young people in our community and the funding we have been given from WYCA and the Police simply makes this new scheme a reality.”
The latest round of the Mayor’s Safer Community Fund, which uses cash and assets seized from criminals by police and prosecutors under the Proceeds of Crime Act, saw groups and organisations awarded grants of up to £10,000 from a total pot of up to £581,541.
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “It is humbling to be able to support so many fantastic organisations working to make our region a safer, fairer place.
“The reason we choose to reinvest this money taken from criminals is the huge difference these projects can make to the lives of people they support in our communities.
“I look forward to visiting more of these organisations over the coming year to find out more about their work and want to thank West Yorkshire Police once again for helping to make the fund possible.”
The money is made available largely thanks to the efforts of the force’s Economic Crime Unit, which is responsible for tracking down criminal ill-gotten gains through offences such as fraud and drug dealing.
West Yorkshire Police Chief Constable John Robins QPM DL, said: “Our officers and staff work hard to reduce crime across West Yorkshire and seizing assets from convicted criminals is a way of making them realise that crime does not pay.
“I am always delighted to see these ill-gotten gains being put back into our communities to make them safer places, and would encourage local groups and projects to apply for this funding which can help to bring their plans to fruition.”
The fund’s next grant round is due to open on November 11. For more information, visit here.
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