Community Networks receive a boost from CEN Cross Cutting Network Grants

Tackling worklessness for women over 40, developing arts activities for young people and tackling issues raised by the refugee and migrant population in Hackney, are just some of the tasks Hackney's community networks have set themselves as part of the Community Empowerment Network (CEN) Cross Cutting Network grants programme which is funded by Team Hackney.

Mary Cannon, new chair of the CEN, said "I am delighted that we have been able to fund such a wide range of interesting and innovative projects set up by nine of Hackney's many community networks - and all designed to bridge barriers and improve the lives of those most excluded".

The nine funded Cross Cutting Networks are: BEMA Hackney Advice Forum (Social Action for Health), Hackney African Forum, Hackney Environment Network - working with Hackney Parks Forum, Hackney Refugee Forum, Hackney Women's Forum, Charedi Community Bridging and Bonding (Interlink), Inter-Community Forum (Nida Trust) Hackney Turkish Kurdish Network (Refugee Workers Cultural Association).

Ali Aksoy, HRF Chair and representative on the Mayor of London's refugee advisory panel, London Refugee Economic Action (LORECA), said: "The grant will help us to organise networking meetings between September 08 to April 09.  These meetings provide an invaluable opportunity for service providers to come together with people from refugee groups to talk about running joint activities and hear information on burning issues relating to Local Area Agreement (LAA) priorities."

The Cross Cutting Network grants offered networks up to £3,000 for work which supports the achievement of at least one of the Local Area Agreement (LAA) targets.  These networks are described as ‘cross cutting' in that they do not fit neatly within one of the five priority work areas and Boards of Team Hackney: Children and Young People, Better Homes, Thriving Healthy communities, A Safer, Cleaner place to live and Economic Development. Instead, they influence outcomes across the partnership as a whole.

The work of these networks will complement that of the three existing Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) forums which mirror two of the five Boards of Team Hackney and are already successfully up and running.  These are The Health and Social Care Providers Forum, the Children and Young People's Providers Forum, which is open to anyone in the VCS who provides services to children and young people in Hackney, and the Economic Development Partnership network for VCS organisations which links into Team Hackney on training, enterprise, volunteering and employment issues.

Applications went before a panel made up of three representatives of the CEN: newly appointed Chair, Mary Cannon, Algin Saydar, who sits on the Children & Young Peoples Partnership Board and Jane Woolley, strategic commissioning manager from Team Hackney. Jane Woolley said: "Funding the cross cutting networks gives Team Hackney a unique opportunity to really involve those who are typically hard to reach, such as refugee communities and the Orthodox Jewish community."

The grants of up to £3,000 will fund work that runs from September 2008 to March 2009.

To see a complete list of awarded groups: Table of Grant Awards (45.5KB)

For enquiries about the programme or to join the HCVS mailing list, contact Gillian Trevethan at HCVS on 020 7923 8186 or Gillian@hcvs.org.uk or vist the HCVS website  www.hcvs.org.uk or Team Hackney www.teamhackney.org.

05.11.2008