CAMDEN REWARDS INNOVATION

(19/09/06)

Thirty innovative projects from public, voluntary and community organisations have been awarded £576,000 in funding.

The money comes from a new Innovation Fund set up to support creative projects that help build social cohesion and reduce inequalities in the borough.

The successful projects, chosen from more than 150 applications, will use different approaches to find new ways of tackling local issues such as helping people into work, providing better support for parents, reducing substance misuse and tackling anti-social behaviour and fear of crime.

The projects include:
· Building Financial Awareness for Families, helping Community Housing Group tenants develop financial management skills and reduce their dependency on local moneylenders and credit cards

· Mobile First Stop Shop to Employment from the Ethiopian Welfare Action Group, which will take information and job opportunities to refugee communities

· Estate Pride, a Camden Council project to help tenant and resident associations tackle anti-social behaviour by bringing different estate groups together and building pride in their estates

· Right to Volunteer, a project from Disability in Camden, to improve deaf and disabled people’s access to volunteer opportunities

· Reducing Anti-Social Acts by Youths, from the Tybalds Estate TRA, which will employ a chartered psychologist to visit the estate, investigate anti-social behaviour and recommend remedies

· Inter Racial Night Football League from Queen’s Crescent Community Association to set up a football league for young people from different ethnic backgrounds and raise cultural awareness

· A pilot scheme for four new Police Community Support Officers at fixed points in Camden Town market to address the concerns of residents and businesses about the fear of crime and drug dealing

Cllr Andrew Marshall, Executive Member for Equalities and Community Development, said: "Camden faces some challenging issues and it is important that we encourage new and innovative ways of tackling them. The Innovation Fund will help us use the available taxpayers' money as effectively as possible to achieve this. The thirty innovative and exciting projects chosen cover a wide spectrum of different needs within the community, from training and building skills, to helping housing estates tackle anti-social behaviour and I hope it will lead to new ways of working.”

The Innovation Fund was set up in July by the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) to achieve the priorities of the Local Area Agreement, an agreement between Government, Camden Council and its partners to improve public services.

The LSP will monitor the projects and each will be evaluated following completion in March 2007. Successful projects will be encouraged and supported to share learning and good practice with service providers across the Borough.

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