As lockdown is easing and community settings are getting ready to re-open to the public, do you have an idea to help those who are isolated/anxious to feel safe about returning back into their community?
The Community Inclusion Grant was created in 2012 to fund projects which improve the lives of older people living in Wrexham. Due to the pandemic, elderly and vulnerable people are feeling even more lonely and isolated than usual and need support. This Grant aims to assist the people with the ideas to realise their plans and provide such support.
Make sure you know about changes to Covid-19 restrictions in Wales
Providing the coronavirus situation remains calm, indoor supervised activities for up to 15 adults, such as exercise classes, will now be able to resume from 3 May and Community Centres will be allowed to reopen from 3 May, increasing the opportunities to get people back together.
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Re-connecting people not only has a positive impact on their health and emotional well-being, but it also supports their community by gaining access to economic and social capital.
Last year the Grant supported Llay Luncheon Club to keep in contact with members while the weekly lunch club had to close. Organiser, Clive Coleclough, applied to the Grant to fund newsletters and quizzes to send to members and those who were shielding/isolating during the pandemic were particularly grateful for the contact:-
Elsie: “The articles and newsletters have been very interesting ………… kept me in touch with the outside world during this shutdown. The quizzes made me get off my backside and try to solve them. I also found it very assuring that other people were going through the same experience as me. They gave me other things to think about and take my mind of myself. I look forward to receiving more.”
Ann: “The regular emails and quiz and cards etc certainly make me and I am sure lots of others feel in the link, especially the older members of the club and those who live alone.”
Cllr Joan Lowe, Lead Member for Adult Social Care, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for community groups or individuals to receive funding to help them to run their projects or make their ideas a reality.
“It has proven to be very successful in connecting with those in our community who are most at risk of loneliness or isolation and I encourage any group or individual to get in touch with their ideas in order to move them forward.”
Other projects the Grant helped during 2020 include Dragon Dinners, Holt Mindfulness Walks and Plas Madoc Vegetable Boxes.
Do you have a new idea or need funds for an existing project which will help the elderly and the vulnerable in your community?
Funding, in the range of £200 – £2,500, is available to set up new activities or help sustain existing activities which reduce social isolation and loneliness within communities across Wrexham County Borough, particularly in rural areas.
The application process is straightforward and applications are considered by Virtual Panel to ensure decisions are made as soon as possible. For more information, criteria and an application form please contact the team using the details below.
Contact the team
Application form, criteria and guidance available by email: commissioning@wrexham.gov.uk or telephone 01978 292066 and ask for Commissioning Team for an informal chat or more information.
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