East Suffolk Council
Hidden Needs grant programme
| This scheme is no longer open. |
The Hidden Needs grant programme, developed by the former East Suffolk Partnership, previously focussed on older people and families with limited access to resources. Given the wide reach of the Covid-19 pandemic across the population, these criteria have now been updated to reflect any/all age groups in East Suffolk experiencing loneliness or isolation.
The maps available at the links below show geographical locations in the District that are/were more likely (pre-Covid-19) to have concentrations of people who are lonely and isolated. However, please remember that these maps only show where it is more likely that there are people with these needs, they do not reflect what might already be happening in these communities to tackle these needs.
We are particularly interested in funding projects that support those identified (pre-Covid-19) as more likely to be socially isolated and lonely, as we know that these individuals, families and communities are likely to be impacted by Covid-19 to a greater extent than the wider population. Projects may also target new sectors of the population who you feel have become more socially isolated as a result of the virus.
Context
A significant amount of work has already been undertaken on social isolation in East Suffolk, including this ground-breaking hidden needs mapping and associated Hidden Needs Grant Programme, which has to date enabled a range of innovative community projects to tackle social isolation and loneliness (amongst older people or families with limited resources) in hidden need ‘hot spots’ identified through the mapping. This work has identified the effectiveness of using data and local intelligence to target effort.
The eight projects funded in the first phase of the programme were:
Phase 1
| Group name | Project description | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| ActivLives | Everyday ActivEast project – to expand their services into East Suffolk (Leiston, Felixstowe and Woodbridge) | £9,950.00 |
| English Touring Opera | Turtle Song – an opportunity for people with dementia and their carers to write the lyrics and music for a new song cycle | £4,000.00 |
| Thursday's @ The Fisher | Fortnightly dementia friendly screenings at the Fisher Theatre in Bungay to reduce isolation. | £10,000.00 |
| Peninsula Practice | To provide training for local volunteers to become Compassionate Companions as part of a wider Compassionate Community. | £10,000.00 |
| Age UK Suffolk | To create new ‘Chinwags’ groups in Beccles, Aldeburgh, Wickham Market, Woodbridge based on the existing Kesgrave project | £16,722.54 |
| Rose & Sweet William Club | To purchase a mini-bus to enable the isolated members of the group to attend their club. | £7,519.74 |
| Beccles Men Shed | To re-locate the Men’s Shed from a temporary home in Henstead to a permanent home in Beccles. | £10,743.00 |
| Melton Primary School | To create a School Volunteering Programme tackling a range of key projects, led by a new Volunteer Coordinator. | £5,800.00 |
| Total: | £74,735.28 | |
Suffolk County Council’s Knowledge Team have updated the hidden needs maps produced two years ago, but with a wider focus on all age groups (young people, working age and older people) and including a range of different factors that might contribute to Social Isolation and Loneliness. It is expected that significantly more people will experience increased isolation and loneliness due to government restrictions in place to manage/contain Covid-19 and this programme is an opportunity to take a data and intelligence-led response to these needs.
Phase two
| Group name | Project Description | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesdays Child | To create a recovery ambassador befriending programme which has not previously existed for those with eating disorders (or those affected by eating disorders) | £9,950.00 |
| Hour Community | To purchase 2 portable buildings to home a new men's shed in Framlingham and a new Furniture Project | £7,500.00 |
| Halesworth Volunteer Centre | To start a Gift Project which is about giving and sharing as a way to help lonely and isolated people re-engage with their community. | £10,000.00 |
| Seagull Theatre | Funding towards the costs of running the Sunday Classics Film club for a further year. | £9,320.00 |
| Round 2 |
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| Rural Coffee Caravan | To restart or introduce their mobile pop up cafes so that people can come together to share their experiences, begin new friendships and strengthen community spirit through new connections to local groups and people | £3,750.00 |
| Pathway Care Farm | To identify older people who consider themselves to be lonely and isolated and offer them a place at the farm for day visits. This project was also supported with ECB. | £5,500.00 |
| Greenlight Trust | To run a woodland group at their Martlesham Heath location. This will be aimed at people who are feeling isolated and struggling with their mental health. | £6,960.00 |
| Swell Music CIC | To provide singing sessions to Parkinsons sufferers. | £7,400.00 |
| Boost Felixstowe | To offer support to student’s anxiety about returning to school after lockdown, dealing with bereavement and one to one mentoring. | £5,000.00 |
| Halesworth Volunteer Centre | To establish a Good Neighbour Scheme for Bungay based on the BECS initiative. | £10,000.00 |
| Re-engage | Call Companions: establishing Re-engage’s new telephone befriending service for isolated old people | £3,500.00 |
Phase 3
| Group name | Project Description | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Container Projects | Project is aimed at new mothers and parents who have had children during the Covid-19 pandemic who, as a consequence, have been unable to access local mother and baby groups. |
£4,420.00 |
| Home Start | The aim of the project is to increase volunteer capacity to deliver a service to socially isolated families in these localities, thus preventing escalation of needs to statutory services. | £10,000.00 |
| Royal Assocation for Deaf People | Suffolk Deaf Friends 55+ is a one-year pilot project supporting deaf older people in East Suffolk, aged 55+ through community befriending, to reduce isolation and improve health and well-being in first language, BSL. | £6,733.44 |
| The Voice cLoud | ‘Connections’ is an innovative community project designed to tackle the effects of social isolation and loneliness which have been compounded as a result of the social restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. | £9,377.28 |
Phase 4
| Group name | Project Description | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Gatehouse Caring in East Anglia | Funding to deliver an online version of the mindfulness for later life group for people over the age of 65, focusing specifically on the loneliness hotspots identified by the East Suffolk social isolation index 2020. | £4,750.00 |
| Felixstowe Men's Shed | To relocate the Felixstowe Men's Shed to a permanent home. | £8,888.89 |
| Sprinal Injuries Association | To deliver practical and emotional support to those living with spinal injuries. | £5,000.00 |
| Suffolk Sight | The telephone counselling project will provide critical emotional support to fifteen people coping with sight loss in the context of a post-covid recovery that further challenges their mental health. | £3,050.00 |
| Bungay Guides | To expand girl guiding in Bungay | £2,057.25 |
| Access Community Trust | Pop up Studios” will be silent and high-quality outdoor cinema experiences, which are unique and an increasingly popular way for communities to consume film/other cultural content; as well as being a catalyst to engage young people and reduce socially isolated or lonely individuals within the East Suffolk District | £7,849.00 |