Hundreds of people across West Suffolk have had their lives made better by the West Suffolk Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) - but many may not even realise it.

The LSP received £442,000 of government-sourced money from Suffolk County Council last year and has been spending this on supporting local projects across West Suffolk. By working in partnership over the last 12 months the LSP has been able to achieve the following:

1. Funding a new alcohol awareness course, Think Smart Drink Smart, run by Suffolk MIND to help people overcome their addiction to alcohol
2. Working with Suffolk Carers to identify young people who are caring for relatives or other adults in West Suffolk with alcohol problems. The project has set up friendship and social clubs in rural areas, offered one-to-one advice and support and organised short residential breaks for young carers.
3. Raising awareness of fuel poverty and setting up a one-stop helpline in conjunction with Suffolk Energy Action Link to help older people get free insulation for their homes.
4. Working with Suffolk ACRE to set up Good Neighbours Schemes in rural areas to provide elderly or immobile residents with help running errands, picking up shopping and getting transport for medical appointments
5. Preventing falls by giving out hundreds of free non-slip slippers to older residents in our Sloppy Slippers campaign
6. Reducing alcohol-related crimes and death - Respect Alcohol Respect Yourself campaign. The project includes training programmes for bar and door staff in pubs and clubs, monitoring under-age sales through mystery shopping, performing an awareness-raising play for secondary school students in conjunction with the Theatre Royal and distributing education and information packs.
7. Getting people with disabilities active through Showcase events at local leisure centres and a new ‘buddy’ scheme to support people with disabilities at local gyms.
8. Organising Turn Up and Play events for children during school holidays to get young people active and discourage anti social behaviour.
9. Training volunteers to become coaches and sports leaders - Operation Coach.
10. Working with West Suffolk College to offer small businesses’ training analysis to help small businesses analyse and meet their staff training needs.
11. Helping migrant workers by providing information in different languages, holding information workshops and organising Festivals of Culture.

John Griffiths, Chair of the West Suffolk LSP, says: “By working together we are able to achieve so much more than if we worked in isolation. These projects would not have got off the ground without the West Suffolk LSP and we have been heartened so see such positive results in just the first 12 months.”

In addition to the partnership projects, the LSP set up a Community Chest Fund to help local people access money to improve facilities or services in their community.

David Wood, Project Manager for West Suffolk LSP says: “So many smaller community facilities struggle with a lack of funds and new project ideas never come to fruition because they simply can’t raise the cash. We have been delighted to see so many happy faces across West Suffolk as a result of the LSP being able to give them the grants they so desperately need and it’s been great to see we are able to make a real difference to people’s everyday lives.”

The projects that have benefited are :

1. Improvements to Bures village hall
2. Funding for home visits by Newmarket and district Citizens Advice Bureau to those who are elderly, infirm or immobile
3. Developing a community woodland at Great Barton with the Green Light Trust
4. Creating an outdoor play area for Mildenhall out of school club
5. New Moreton Hall Pre-school facilities
6. Buying new facilities for Risby Pre-school
7. Funding for a new magazine produced by Newmarket Day Centre to help older people remain in their homes
8. Nacro tenancy awareness training for residents in the Forest Heath area
9. New outdoor play equipment for Little Acorns Childcare (Bury St Edmunds)
10. Producing information leaflets by Bury St Edmunds Volunteer Centre in foreign languages
11. Producing a West Suffolk MIND mental health leaflet
12. Tools and training to allow Red Lodge Conservation Group to clear waste from the local heath and pathways
13. Reducing the waiting times at Bury St Edmunds and district CAB
14. The refurbishment of Little Waldingfield parish room and rebuilding the unstable boundary wall
15. Safe fuel storage for the conservation management of Sudbury Common Lands

News has recently come through that a further £79,000 funding will be available for the LSP to spend on more projects over the next year and a decision on where the money will go should be made by the end of May.

Anyone wanting to find out more about the LSP should visit www.onesuffolk.co.uk/wslsp or call David Wood on 01638 719285.