Applications open for Youth Empowerment Scheme (UK)

To ensure that delivery aligns with the PCC and MVRPs strategic priorities, there will be a mandatory requirement for all successful organisations to attend a free trauma informed awareness session to provide staff with an overview of the following six trauma informed core principles in settings:

• Understanding Trauma and Stress
• Compassion and Dependability
• Cultural Humility and Responsiveness
• Safety and Stability
• Collaboration and Empowerment
• Resilience and Recovery

Focus Areas

• The primary focus of the fund is community provision and out-of-school-hours engagement. Interventions/programmes delivered must fall into one of the following types:
  • Prevention
    • Awareness-raising or psycho-social education programmes
  • Early Intervention
    • Developmental and diversionary youth outreach activities and programmes
  • Therapeutic
    • Tailored interventions and programmes
  • Desistence
    • Programmes which aim to cease offending or reoffending

Fund Priority Areas

• The Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership receives government funding to identify and support those areas which have the greatest need and impact (in terms of demand upon blue light services). This is based on localised data, using several datasets held within the Trauma & Injury Intelligence Group (TIIG) Data Hub. Based on this data, they encourage proposals for programmes and projects based as follows:
  • St Helens
    • Town Centre East & West, Moss Bank, Broad Oak
  • Sefton
    • Bootle, Southport, Seaforth & Netherton
  • Wirral
    • Bidston and St James, Birkenhead and Tranmere, Leasowe, Seacombe, Poulton, Egremont & Woodchurch
  • Liverpool
    • Central, County, Riverside, Norris Green, Princess Park, Fairfield West & Newsham, Walton/Fazakerley, Garston/Speke
  • Knowsley
    • Kirkby South East, Stockbridge, Page Moss & Fincham, Prescot, Halewood North, Huyton

Funding Information

• The minimum grant applied for is £5,000 and maximum grant is £25,000.

Eligible Projects

• Increased participation of young people in arts, digital, cultural and sports activities
• Increased engagement with young people which is sustainable beyond the funding period
• Improved reported mental health and wellbeing of young people (including anger management)
• Increased perception of personal safety amongst the young people involved
• Improved social, emotional, and behavioural skills
• Improved awareness of the impact of violent crime, particularly knife crime, and the signs and dangers of child criminal exploitation
• Improved aspirations of young people
• Voices of young people and communities being embedded within the organisation
• Increased opportunities for young people
• Increased awareness of online harm, disinformation and vulnerability.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applications can be considered from all areas within Merseyside (Halton is not eligible as this falls under Cheshire PCC) and they encourage applications from areas suffering of high crime and ASB.
• Funding must be spent in full by 31st March 2026 and must include an element of youth engagement during the summer school holidays and October half-term/Halloween/bonfire night period.
• Applications should include some evidence of young people being involved in the co-production, co-design, or co-evaluation of programmes/projects.

Application Requirements

• Documents which need to be included with your application:
  • A copy of your governing document.
  • A copy of your latest annual accounts or income/expenditure document.
  • A copy of a recent bank statement for your group. If you do not have a bank account in place, you must be able to nominate another organisation to hold the funds (CVS, another local charity, church etc.).
  • A list of your Trustees/Directors/Management Committee members. A minimum of three un-related must be in place.
  • A copy of your current Safeguarding Policy. All applicants must ensure that they hold relevant policies and procedures in place to undertake activities, such as Criminal Records Bureau checks and/or a health and safety policy, depending on proposed activity. If unsure, they recommend taking advice from your local CVS.

For more information, visit CFM.