Public Health Agency Small Grants: Emotional Wellbeing & Suicide Prevention ("Take 5")

Overview

Two types of awards are available under this scheme.

• Award one grants of up to £1,000 that non-constituted and constituted non-profit taking Community / Voluntary Sector groups can apply for and
• Award two grants of between £1,001 and to a maximum of £5,000 for constituted, non-profit taking Community / Voluntary sector groups.

Aims

• Encourage communities to be pro-active in promoting positive mental health and emotional wellbeing and tackle the contributing factors of self-harm and suicide through working with the 5 ways to wellbeing.
• To build sustainable resilient communities through positive collaboration of organisations/groups.
• Promote innovative interventions/programmes that promote positive mental health and emotional wellbeing and tackle the contributing factors of self-harm and suicide.
• Address the determinants of poor health and reduce health inequalities by increasing the delivery of resources, programmes and/or services to the top 20% most disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
• Encourage resilience and capacity in vulnerable higher risk groups including LGBT people; Migrant populations and ethnic minorities; Homeless people; Those who have experienced abuse/conflict, including sexual abuse and domestic violence; “Looked after” children and care experienced children; Those with PTSD as a consequence of the conflict in the north of Ireland; People who are long-term unemployed; Certain occupations such as farming, the military (including veteran populations), dentistry, and “low status” occupations; Males aged 19 to 55, especially those who live in areas of deprivation; Those in contact with the justice system; People with mental illness, including addiction disorder; Traveller community; Those experiencing gender identity issues;

Award One – Eligibility Criteria

• Grants up to up to £1,000 (non-constituted and constituted non-profit taking Community / Voluntary Sector groups).
• It is expected, and will be a condition of the grant that a level of good governance is observed in the running of the group.
• Provide relevant background / qualifications / knowledge and experience for trainers / tutors or facilitators – if you need any further guidance on this, please contact: The CLEAR Project on 02871 383 386 or email carol@dhcni.com
• Where a group cannot provide sufficient evidence of proper financial processes, the CLEAR Project will pay for direct invoices/items needed under the provider/applicants. This would particularly suit smaller groups with limited governance.

Award Two – Eligibility Criteria

• Grants between £1,001 - £5,000 for constituted, non-profit taking Community / Voluntary Sector Groups (You have adopted a constitution and/or articles and memorandum of association)
• As a commissioned service Community Voluntary Sector organisations are required to consider the implementation of the PHA Core Quality Standards for Promoting Mental & Emotional Wellbeing and Suicide Prevention (http://bit.ly/MHstandards). Should your application be successful, as a minimum, your organisation should undertake a self-assessment against the core standards contained within the document (and additional sections if relevant to this project).

Both Awards – Eligibility criteria

• It is not envisaged that monies available under these funding streams will be used as gap funding for projects which are already in development.
• If constituted, you should have a bank or building society account in the name of your group, enclose your most recent annual accounts (or, for new groups, a statement of your income and expenditure), provide a copy of your Committee Members and provide a Child Protection / Vulnerable Adults Policy (if applicable)
• Your project fits within the advised themes.
• Your project will run within the areas coverd.
• Organisations can only apply for either Award One or Award Two but not both and only one application per organisation for delivery within a specific area will be accepted. Please note: If applying for more than one area a separate application form must be submitted for each area.

Assessment Criteria

Applications for both awards will be assessed according to the extent to which they meet the following funding aims:

• Projects that encourage communities to be proactive in promoting positive mental health and emotional wellbeing and tackle the contributing factors of self-harm and suicide through working with the "Take 5" Steps to wellbeing.
• Projects that build sustainable resilient communities through positive collaboration of organisations/groups.
• Innovative interventions / programmes that promote positive mental health and emotional well-being, and tackle the contributing factors of self-harm and suicide.
• Projects that address the determinants of poor health and reduce health inequalities by increasing the delivery of resources, programmes and / or services to the top 20% most disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
• Encourage resilience and capacity in vulnerable higher risk groups including LGBT people; Migrant populations and ethnic minorities; Homeless people; Those who have experienced abuse/conflict, including sexual abuse and domestic violence; “Looked after” children and care experienced children; Those with PTSD as a consequence of the conflict in the north of Ireland; People who are long-term unemployed; Certain occupations such as farming, the military (including veteran populations), dentistry, and “low status” occupations; Males aged 19 to 55, especially those who live in areas of deprivation; Those in contact with the justice system; People with mental illness, including addiction disorder; Traveller community; Those experiencing gender identity issues;

They will also consider:

• The level of community involvement including how the need for this project was identified at community level.
• Applicants MUST evidence how their project is informing how a specific issue is being addressed.
• Realistic and achievable aims, objectives and outputs.
• Projects that contribute to models of good practice and evidence of effectiveness.
• Projects that clearly outline how the project will be monitored and evaluated.
• Value for money / Reasonableness of costs
• Previous Experience

Please note: Management and administration of previous awards funded through this stream will be taken into account.

Examples of what they will fund:

• Existing staff costs may be considered where work undertaken is in addition to current duties and where monies are not currently being received from another funder for the provision of same. You must provide a rationale / calculation of how the figure was reached e.g. number of hours x hourly rate and guarantee that this does not represent double funding or duplication of an existing service.
• Training and awareness events e.g. information or skills based workshops, seminars etc. (Current PHA endorsed/funded training programmes and providers can be funded through small grants scheme if funding is not duplicated.)
• Equipment, which is less than 50% of total project costs;
• Transport to local facilities which is essential for the delivery of the programme
• Venue hire will be considered where applicants can justify the need for external / additional premises;
• Facilitators

Self-help initiatives for example:

• Art and creative therapies such as drama, writing, painting, crafts etc.
• Physical activity programmes – dance, swimming, walking, yoga, gardening, allotment etc.

Life skills initiatives for example:

• Initiatives linked to the ‘Take 5 Steps to Wellbeing’
• Mood management
• Coping skills
• Self-esteem/ resilience building
• Practical support to boost and protect Mental Health and Emotional Well-Being

Initiatives that address risk factors for example:

• Relationship/ communication issues
• Bereavement support
• Gender Identity
• Sexual Orientation
• Financial Stress
• Unemployment

Note – behaviour change on short term interventions on alcohol, diet, physical activity, sexual behaviour and smoking are proven to be effective over a 6-12 week period.

For examples of the most recent funded projects see here

Should you have any queries regarding this matter please do not hesitate to contact -

The CLEAR Project, Unit 13, Strabane Enterprise Agency, Orchard Road Industrial Estate, Strabane, BT82 9FR. Tel: 028 7138 3386 Email: clear@dhcni.com