Durham charity receives £37,000 boost to expand youth activities in local communities

A County Durham charity, The Cornforth Partnership, dedicated to preventing crime and safeguarding young people, has been granted a significant funding boost. Durham Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Joy Allen has sanctioned around £37,000 in funding to support the charity's plans to extend youth services in the communities of Cornforth, Bishop Middleham, Ferryhill, Chilton and Newton Aycliffe.

This means that children and young adults will have better access to leisure and learning opportunities. The award-winning charity has been providing youth and community services for over 26 years, collaborating with local authorities to offer essential local services and activities, including assistance for those grappling with severe poverty or job hunting.

Despite changes in Cornforth and other former pit villages in the defunct Durham coalfield, demand has surged. The charity also provides mentoring, social activities, employment training, and combats isolation and loneliness among the local elderly population.

Over 2,500 individuals have received support this year thanks to the relentless efforts of daily volunteers. The PCC’s grant will fund a new pilot involving Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations, local authorities, schools and the police with four key objectives.

The plan is to establish an Area Youth Forum that will regularly bring together service providers to discuss ways of improving outcomes for local young people, based on data-driven action plans.

There's also a focus on delivering youth work training to enhance the capacity and skills of the local community, enabling them to provide additional youth programmes and improve the skills of staff and volunteers at local organisations. .

The recruitment of dedicated youth work staff is also on the cards, who will coordinate the project and liaise with schools, youth organisations and communities to gather feedback on the needs of young people and relay this to the Area Youth Forum. .

Additionally, funding will be provided for social activities and new opportunities to engage young people, including the purchase of equipment and resources to enhance existing provision.

New youth worker positions are set to be established with the help of fresh funding, which will enable them to collaborate with schools in delivering sessions that raise awareness about key issues affecting young people today, such as online safety, substance misuse, vaping, and sex and relationships.

Commissioner Allen commented: "One of the many strengths of this project is the attention being given to gathering the voice of young people themselves.

"We know from experience that programmes driven and designed by young people for young people are more successful, and I am pleased that project leaders recognise this and have built-in continuous engagement with young people moving forward.

"We know that a lack of meaningful activities and safe spaces for young people to socialise and develop can contribute to increased anti-social behaviour. This funding will not only build on current provision but will create the right infrastructure to sustain youth provision in the future with the rollout of important training.

"I am looking forward to monitoring the achievements of the programme in the future."

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