Knowsley, Merseyside
Project: Old School House Community Project
Grant awarded: £250,000
Date: July 2005
About
This grant was awarded to refurbish and attract a range of community partners to a community resource centre, which focuses its work on those in one of the most deprived local authority wards in the UK - St Gabriels. It aimed to bring into partnership a wide range of agencies and projects within the community/voluntary sector and the statutory sector, to offer co-ordinated services and opportunities for local people.
The grant has enabled the establishment of a vibrant, strong new community facility. The project has been community-led from the start and the majority of trustees are local residents. The success of the project has allowed for a new sense of hope and confidence of what local people can achieve, and the presence of the Old School House facility gives them encouragement to develop their own groups.
Due to the availability of this new centre, volunteer involvement has improved, and there has been a wealth of new services established including an educational programme run by Merseyside Youth Association, drama sessions delivered by 008 Productions, a parent and toddler group delivered through Homestart, and an educational programme for disabled young people delivered by KPAC. In addition to this, 360 stroke victims have accessed a communication support group, and 30 people attended healthy eating training delivered through the Community Cooks scheme.
The project worked towards breaking down barriers to inclusion, and the regeneration of the neighbourhoods of St Gabriel’s ward by providing opportunities for training, education, jobs on site and access to employment elsewhere, personal development and healthy living. This enabled people to overcome stigma, low expectations and self esteem, low skills, low educational attainment and a generational culture of unemployment and welfare subsistence.
The group have been surprised at the level of interest in the use of the building as a meeting and training venue, and the trustees are particularly pleased that disability groups find the building easy to access and comfortable to use. The project will continue after Fair Share Trust funding has ceased, and it is currently developing a strong income stream through the rental of offices and the occasional hire of rooms; there is also some potential to strengthen income generation as the kitchen area of the building is developed.
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