Highland groups receive �5,000 in Community Covenant funding

21st December 2012

The first two successful applications from the Highlands to the Armed Forces Community Covenant have been awarded nearly �5,000 of funding for local community projects.

At the end of October Public Sector Partners in the Highlands showed their joint commitment to the Armed Forces by signing an Armed Forces Community Covenant. This paved the way for communities in the Highlands to bid into the �30 million grant scheme which is operated by the Ministry of Defence to finance local projects which strengthen the ties between members of the Armed Forces community and local communities.

�678 has been awarded to the Highlands & Islands Fires & Rescue Service to provide training and development for 12-15 year olds, including service family children living in Inverness. The course programme will cover a wide range of topics from home fire safety, the use of pumps, hose and breathing apparatus, ladders, dealing with road traffic collisions, learning knots and lines, as well as basic first aid.

During the course the young people will be given the opportunity to carry out practical exercises on the drill ground and spend time focusing on issues which affect their local community such as anti-social behaviour, road and fire safety.

The second successful application comes from The Highland Council�s Safer Highland Support Team who have received �4,234 for the Getting it Right for Forces Families: Building Bridges project. The funding will be used to strengthen links between the Armed Forces and the Highland community by hosting a 2 day Public Protection event for 120 delegates.

The programme will cover a wide range of topics including combat stress, alcohol misuse, domestic abuse, self-harm and suicide, post-traumatic stress disorder, disability, homelessness, child and adult protection for those working within the Armed Forces and civilian welfare service organisations.

Councillor Carolyn Caddick, The Highland Council�s Armed Forces and Veterans� Champion said: �The Highlands have a strong tradition of supporting the Armed Forces community so I am very pleased these two very worthy projects have been successful in getting funding. This is the first of many projects that we will be supporting - we have another 3 in the pipeline that will hopefully be submitted in the New Year. However I would strongly encourage organisations and community groups who are looking for support to get their applications in as soon as possible.�

The deadline for applications is Friday 1st February 2013. Full details of the criteria, information on how to apply and the application forms are available from The Highland Council�s website. www.highland.gov.uk/livinghere/communitiesandorganisations/armedforcescommunitycovenant/