Letter from Lambeth Council -

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Dear partner, I am writing to you to make sure you have seen the recently announced “My Ends” funding from the London Violence Reduction Unit. The funding is for a consortium of local providers to deliver community led solutions to reducing violence in high risk areas. The funding runs for up to 3 years and for a maximum of £750,000K. Further details can be found at: https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/mayors-office-policing-and-crime-mopac/services-we- fund/current-mopac-vru-bidding-opportunities One of the stipulations of a successful bid is that it must have local authority support. We have been asked to support projects where possible and to provide MOPAC with feedback on which projects we view as potentially being the best placed to reduce violence. Therefore, I wanted to set out the partnership’s views clearly and transparently so that you all could see and discuss with us where appropriate and for us to offer help if needed in preparing bids. • The funding is targeted at neighbourhoods suffering from high levels of violence. These can be as small as an estate or a larger, ward level basis. In Lambeth based on our data and number of incidents we are primarily focussing currently on the areas of Brixton (including Tulse Hill) and Stockwell and the estates in and around those areas. Although many areas of Lambeth suffer significant violence, these are the areas we feel would most benefit from this funding and we would look to prioritise work here. Please note that a project does not need to cover one single area – it could run on two separate estates in the borough if appropriate. • An essential part of the program is community partnership and leadership, which is also at the heart of our own work in Lambeth. As many of you know we have recently started the Lambeth Made Community program which supports residents across our wards to increase community resilience. Although in their early stages these have proven very successful in enabling and supporting residents to discuss safety and crime in their area, particularly violence against young people. We would strongly support any bid that looks to use the Lambeth Made Community forums as an essential part of their work, particularly around community leadership and engagement. • Each bid must be from a consortium made up of at least three organisations. In particular, the VRU is looking for smaller, more specialist organisations to be part of a consortium and we would echo that sentiment. We are fortunate in Lambeth to have a wealth of third sector expertise, and we would welcome projects that draw upon local knowledge and smaller organisations who have trusted relationships and knowledge of their area. We would also welcome bids that evidence robust financial sustainability models, as this will be a key focus for successful bids. London Borough of Lambeth PO Box 734 Winchester SO23 5DG • As you may be aware the partnership will be launching its 10-year strategy for reducing violence against young people before Christmas - Lambeth Made safer. This is based on a public health approach and draws upon the views and leadership of residents, young people and third sector groups across Lambeth. We are looking to support bids that align with our key prioritises for the next three years: o Building a new community partnership, through Lambeth Made community and other forums, to empower our communities to lead change in their neighbourhoods o Tackling racism, through an anti-racist approach and building equity across all communities with a focus on the black African and Caribbean community o Developing a wider approach to preventing violence against young people in the first place. This includes mental health, social and economic factors, substance misuse, abuse in the family setting and other factors that to violence in the long term. If you are interested in bidding for this funding, I would welcome a discussion as to how we can support you and your partners at the earliest opportunity. A written statement of support from the Chief Executive is required for any bid, and the earlier we discuss the easier this process will be. We will also be looking to release a short data summary over the next week which may be of use for any bid containing up to date crime figures and prevalence levels in the borough of violence against young people. As a council we want to support as many bids as possible. We would like to meet any prospective consortiums as soon as possible. The Community Safety will be managing this process from the council, so please do reach out to me with any questions or concerns as soon as possible at: [email protected] Tel: 07540 783620 Finally, I wanted to make sure you were aware that the council commissions Integrate to assist with capacity building in the borough, and that they are also available as a resource for any potential consortium. In addition, the VRU will be hosting two Q&A sessions outlined at the website above on the 8th October (11am till 2pm) and the 15th October (11am to 12pm). Kristian Aspinall Assistant Director – Community Safety Mobile: 020 7926 2429 Email: [email protected] Page 2