READING Borough Council has provided funding to ten organisations across the town as part of its latest round of community grants.
It comes as part of the Better Care Fund, one of the initiatives from the council’s Adult Social Care Service.
Funds are distributed by the service to help support those experiencing immediate and long-term health issues as well as loneliness and mental health issues.
Funding of £150,000 has been shared between projects including ACRE Reading’s Men-2Men project; Berkshire Vision; and the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire Integrated Care Board’s project aimed at reducing distress and anxiety in autistic people using emergency services.
It also funded Mustard Tree’s Starting Point Navigators, which helps young people admitted to hospital; Parenting Special Children; RABBLE Theatre; and Mencap’s Family Health advisor.
Further support went to Reading Gateway Church to support another parish nurse, the Refugee Support Group, and a new parish nurse at the Torch Health Hub.
Projects are regularly reviewed to monitor how they benefit residents after being referred through Reading Voluntary Action’s Joy App.
Councillor Ruth McEwan, Lead Member for Education and Public Health, said: “There is significant and excellent help and advice available to residents, which is provided in our communities by organisations that know them best.
“This is helping people remain as independent as possible in their own homes surrounded by the communities which mean so much to them, for as long as possible.
“These grants are for health and improved wellbeing, without which physical health can decline which can lead to an early introduction to adult social care.”
Rachael Corser, Chief Nursing Officer for the Integrated Care Board and a member of the Reading Health and Wellbeing Board, said:
“The groups which have received grants work closely with our communities to offer services meeting local needs. We are pleased to be able to support them in their work to improve wellbeing and help people to stay healthy,”
