Each awarded project highlighted ways to meet the identified gaps in service and provision within our Powys areas alongside clear alignment with the Powys Health and Care Strategy. The identified priorities for the year were:
Travel for wellbeing
Improving community wellbeing and connections
Support for the vulnerable
Eating better, spending less
We would like to express our gratitude to everyone involved in our locality network meetings and Social Value Forum Coordination meetings which help to highlight the gaps in provision in each of our 13 Powys Localities and determine the fund priorities. Thanks also to our panel, who diligently worked through every application form resulting in an efficient and effective panel meeting and the award of the funds.
Please get in touch if you would like to know more about our locality network meetings and how your input could positively impact our communities.
Below is the list of the organisations who have received this current funding.
ORGANISATION | £ | Project | Description |
Hay and District Sports & Community Association (HADSCAL) | £13,405.00 | Growing Space (as part of Hay Community Campus) | An accessible community growing space empowering people to work alongside others sharing knowledge and/or learning new skills, building connections, and improving physical and mental health whilst growing healthy seasonal food for both their own and wider community use. |
In Our Element Organisation | £30,675.10 | Wilderness Therapy with Individual Therapy Programme (bursaries) | Wilderness Therapy is a partnership project between four local organisations; In Our Element, Life at No.27, Mind Ystradgynlais & Credu Carers. We have listened to the local community who expressed that if all barriers were removed, Wilderness Therapy would benefit their mental and physical wellbeing along with access to counselling services, and we have come together to transform a successful pilot project into eight-week ‘Wilderness Therapy Programmes’ taking place across 2024; which aim to support adults experiencing early mental health challenges and isolation. We will provide a specialist nature-based group intervention including nature connection, bushcraft, guided self-reflection, mindfulness, woodland crafts. The programmes will run from Craig Y Nos Country Park, with free transport provided from central locations, making it accessible to those within Ystradgynlais and surrounding areas. We will offer two bursaries within each Wilderness Therapy Programme for individuals to receive 6 weeks of personal counselling. |
Llanidloes Energy Solutions (LLES) | £5,086.00 | Happy Skills Project/ Prosiect Sgiliau Hapus | The Happy Skills Project / Prosiect Sgiliau Hapus will help people to spend less and live better while helping to save the planet. Using the tools and equipment in Llanidloes Library of Things we will offer courses in basic home DIY, low energy cooking and repairing clothes. These will be small, friendly classes which build confidence while sharing skills, making friends and having fun. |
Rekindle Home | £20,664.58 | Rekindle Live-Well Safe Space “drop-in” | Rekindle will provide a weekly ‘drop-in’ / 'safe space' service to improve accessibility of mental-health support to young people aged 16 and 25 in Newtown, Powys. Young people will be able to access in-person support from skilled mental-health practitioners, meet with other young people who may be experiencing similar mental health challenges and take part in activities to improve mental-health and wellbeing and build on existing life skills. Young people will be able to build a network of support, challenge themselves in a safe, understanding and non-judgemental environment and, through regular timings and weekly availability, build trust in the service. To ensure accessibility where transport can be a barrier (mobility or rurality issues) we will set-up transport provision so that everyone can access the service. To support well-being, food and refreshments will be available along with regular cooking and nutritional workshops being delivered in collaboration with local organisations. |
BCA Independent Advocacy Services | £18,145.70 | Inclusive Wellbeing Project | The Inclusive Wellbeing project will enable adults with a learning disability to lead a healthier lifestyle by supporting them to attend local gyms, attend accessible yoga and mindfulness sessions and walk in the local area. Regular cooking sessions will support project members to plan, shop for and cook simple, nutritious, affordable meals which they will sit down and eat together providing a social element whilst eating better and spending less. The Inclusive Wellbeing project will give adults with a learning disability something to look forward to each week, the opportunity to make new friends and the information to make healthier choices, boosting confidence and well-being and reducing social isolation. |
Welshpool Community Haven (working in collaboration with CREDU) | £22,286.00 | “Making connections” @theHaven | Our project “Making connections” is designed to create a sense of belonging and community to those who need it most, not only improving wellbeing and tackling isolation but providing opportunities to develop and enhance skills that will benefit people’s daily lives and their families. We will offer a place of well-being to look forward to, that is inclusive and helps to develop confidence, skills and community, providing safe respite for families, support for the vulnerable with an environment that is conducive to extending learnt skills into supported placements and opportunities in the wider community. |
Dementia Matters in Powys | £14,484.00 | Powys Pop-Up Meeting Centres | Meeting Centres follow an evidence-based, international model that provide advice, support and information to those living with Dementia and their Carers. Powys Pilot Pop-Up Meeting Centres will take the work of Powys Meeting Centres to those in more isolated communities and locations of Llanidloes and Llanfyllin areas, reaching people that are currently dealing with Dementia in isolation, involving local communities and reducing stigma associated with the disease. |
Celf o Gwmpas | £17,564.82 | Art for Everyone (Celf I Bawb) | Art for Everyone/Celf I Bawb supports mental health and wellbeing through high quality, affordable, accessible, focused and guided experiences of different art media chosen by specific community groups we have consulted with and which members of the public and local stakeholders have requested. It supports living and ageing well in the community, reaching adults, including those with learning disabilities, enabling them to gain confidence, feel greater community engagement and tackle social isolation, by growing communities. Courses will include art and crafts, sewing, life drawing, creative writing and willow weaving. Have a go days will allow people access to taster sessions and any young people attending will be signposted to our established Youth Clwb Celf. All sessions will be fully inclusive. |
The Outdoor Partnership | £4,508.50 | Adventure Therapy Programme Powys | This programme is for young people aged 18-30 living in Powys who are looking to overcome mental health challenges by engaging in outdoor adventurous activities such as climbing, paddleboarding and hill walking. Participants will experience firsthand the therapeutic and health benefits of being in the outdoors, engaging in physical activity and socialising with peers and be supported to take up outdoor activities as a life-long pursuit. As part of the programme, support workers will be upskilled to deliver low level outdoor activities to groups and individuals to ensure opportunities are extended beyond the length of the programme. |
The Game Change Project (TGCP) | £3,180.30 | Game Changer Holiday Club | Game Changer Holiday Club is a new pilot project which will provide a lifeline for vulnerable young people to improve their wellbeing and social connections. The holiday club will provide intergenerational engagement and support for teens who are at risk of becoming isolated, particularly during school holidays. The Club will provide fun, outdoor activities in a beautiful countryside environment, focussing on improving mental health, wellbeing and social skills. |
Total amount awarded | £150,000.00 |
