Four North West groups are today sharing in a grants windfall from the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards For All programme.  

The small grants programme is awarding nearly £40,000 to the local groups as part of a grants roll-out of £545,243 to 70 groups across Northern Ireland.

Full list of awards (.doc). 
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Awards for All offers community, voluntary and statutory groups the chance to apply for small grants of between £500 and £10,000 that will have a big impact on local communities and the lives of people most in need.

Derry Well Women Limited, a group that works to improve the health of local women and families, has been awarded a grant of £7,572. The group, based on Queen’s Street, is using the grant to run a therapeutic support group for women with eating disorders.

Derry woman Julie Smith*, 38, (*name changed) who has anorexia and attends the group every week, said: “My eating disorder started when I was a teenager and it continued into my 20’s and 30’s. I was feeling lonely, isolated and depressed and I felt like this was the only thing I could control in my life.

“I kept it a secret and my family didn’t even know about how bad my condition was until I needed medical attention. When I was admitted to hospital I weighed six stones.

“The only place that was available to me at the time was the local psychiatric hospital which I didn’t feel helped me much at all. I was referred to a hospital in London where I was supposed to stay without family or friends for a year, but I got really homesick and came back after six weeks.

“Then I was put in contact with Derry Well Women and I have never really looked back. There are women with all types of eating disorders who attend, such as bulimia and over eating. Two qualified psychiatrists run the groups and they are fully aware of the support I need. I feel supported and I have people to talk to about my disorder.”

She continued: “I have learnt positive coping mechanisms that help me deal with everyday stress. I feel like I have got my life back and for the first time I can look to the future.”

Community Action for Local Managing Stress (CALMS), a group which provides support and guidance for people dealing with stress, anxiety and depression throughout the North West, has been awarded a grant of £9,622.

The group, which is based on the Northland Road, is using the money to run stress management programmes to improve the lives of local young people.

“There has been a stark increase in the number of young people, particularly young men, who are coming to us who are dealing with stress and depression in their lives. We are being approached by young people from all backgrounds, whether they are high achievers or not,” said Project Manager Elaine Porteus.

“They’re dealing with feelings of isolation and loneliness and they can feel like they are alone and have no one to talk to. There’s also bullying in schools, and young people who are dealing with family issues or alcohol and drug problems.

“These programmes have been designed with input from the young people who come along to CALMS. When young people heard the words stress management they are immediately put off, so we have used different language.

“For instance, there the ‘Is Your Head Fried’ programmes which is a phone line service for CALMS, or the ‘Express the Mess’ programme which is an annual song writing competition that encourages young people to write down their feelings in a song which is performed at a special event in the Nerve Centre in December.

“The young people here at CALMS have the chance to help run the programmes and that really helps building their confidence and self esteem. They have experienced feeling of anxiety and stress so they know what they are talking about and they can get the message out there in a way that other young people will understand.

Frank Hewitt, Big Lottery Fund NI Chair, said: “The Big Lottery Fund’s NI Awards for All programme funds health, education, environment and community projects that help people bring about positive change in their lives, improve health and well-being, develop skills and create safer communities.”

He continued: “The application process is simple and accessible and shall remain so, making it easy for applicants to successfully apply for small pots of funding that can have such a big impact on local communities and lives.”

Application forms and guidance notes are available to download at www.awardsforall.org.uk.

For more details call us on 028 9055 1455, or e-mail us at enquiriesni@biglotteryfund.org.uk

Further Information

Andrew Kennedy, Press Office Big Lottery Fund: 028 90551426
Mobile: 07788 640 791

Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• The changes to Awards for All come after each distributor developed their funding programmes so they could offer specific small grants schemes that would better meet the needs of their sectors.
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out half the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £23 billion has now been raised and more than 317,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.