A new round of grants are being made available to Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations to support adults with serious mental illness in Gloucestershire.
The £150,000 is the second wave of funding, following an initial grants round in September 2023. The initial round attracted 24 applications, with grants totalling £101,000 awarded to 11 projects. As a result of the strong interest shown among VCSE organisations in the county to expand existing services and develop innovative new projects, the decision was made to open a second bid round with the increased total amount of funding available and increased to a limit of £35,000 for individual bids.
Organisations are now invited to send in new applications for funding – including any applicants who were unsuccessful last time who can use the feedback they received to submit new or alternative bids. Organisations who were successful in the first bid round may reapply if they would like to request additional funds for their project or would like to be considered for funding for a new initiative.
The grants are being made available through the Community Mental Health Transformation programme, which is supporting adults within Gloucestershire who are experiencing Severe Mental Illness (SMI) to take better care of both their physical and mental wellbeing and complex emotional needs.
SMI refers to people with psychological problems that are often so severe that they are not able to engage in activities that many people take for granted. It includes (but is not limited to) conditions such as schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder, or psychosis.
All successful organisations should be able to demonstrate their exclusive impact on this group of service users. The closing date for grant applications is 31 January 2024. Awards will be made in March 2024 and projects will need to be completed with 12 months of the award date.
The grant fund is delivered as a partnership between Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust and Gloucestershire VCS Alliance. Financial responsibility for the grant fund remains the responsibility of Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust.
In line with the transformation framework, we are prioritising funding for VCSE organisations who can demonstrate a deep working with people with lived experience and all organisations need to demonstrate how they will support Gloucestershire’s Transformation Principles:
- Being service user centred
- Being transformative when designing new locality and community-based services
- Involving a diverse range of service users with serious mental illness
Fund Objective and Principles
The overarching aim of the fund is to support community-based initiatives that promote and develop good mental health and wellbeing and / or mitigate and protect against the impact of serious mental illness within the adult population in Gloucestershire with a particular focus on projects that fit with the following principles:
- Projects which tackle crisis support, social isolation and loneliness, prevention, eating disorders and early intervention
- Addressing the mental health inequalities and the needs of a range of at-risk groups
- Improve accessibility to mental health projects/services e.g., through transport/outreach in local communities
- Improve connectivity of community services across locality
- Supporting small ‘grass roots’ community groups and organisations to deliver such activities
- Focus on people who need more support than primary care is able to offer, but do not meet the criteria for secondary care mental health services
- Demonstrate high levels of co-production and engagement with people with lived experience to develop a clear point of view about their needs, barriers which may prevent them from accessing services and any service development needed
- Promote a strengths-based approach and support the strengths and aspirations of individuals
- Providing opportunities for people to connect with each other, build trusted relationships and revitalise communities
- Deliver peer support for people with mental health needs
- Supporting recovery locally by building on what is already there, and by investing in creative solutions
- Supporting knowledge, learning, education, and training
- Collaborations and partnership working between organisations are permitted and encouraged.
How much can we apply for?
During this grants round, the amount you can apply for has increased to £35,000. The total available is £150,000 but we anticipate receiving a lot of applications and we will ensure funds are distributed fairly and equitably based on the merits of each application.
Target Groups
The programme is aimed at improving accessibility to service users who may have previously been disenfranchised or had limited access to statutory and community mental health services. To work with service users from underserved backgrounds or groups, to help them engage with mental health statutory services and develop community support plans where required. Our focus is primarily on the following areas: ethnically diverse people, and LGBTQ+, and male service users and those living in areas of high deprivation and rural communities.
See below sub-project scope definitions for the following SMI cohorts:
Ethnically Diverse Communities
To improve engagement and trust in the community and statutory mental health services for SMI service users from ethnically diverse communities within Gloucestershire. We understand that there is a link between health inequalities and ethnicity, often leading to ethnically diverse people having poor health outcomes when compared to the general population. There is also evidence that members of ethnic minorities have a higher prevalence of SMI in the UK and struggle to access services in a way that is meaningful to them. We want to understand what prevents high levels of engagement and inclusion and develop projects which will both help staff within health provide a better service for this cohort and support service users to engage in and access services to help them live well in their communities.
LGBTQ+
To improve engagement and trust in community and statutory mental health services for LGBTQ+ Service Users with SMI. To understand what prevents high levels of engagement and inclusion. Develop projects which will both help staff within health provide a better service for these service users and help service users engage in and access services to help them live well in their communities.
Male Service Users
To improve engagement and trust in the community and statutory mental health services for adult male SMI service users within Gloucestershire. Although mental health problems and SMI affect both men and women, we see significantly higher rates of suicide in men. They are also less likely to access psychological therapies, they have increased levels of homelessness and substance abuse and are more likely to be victims of violence and end up detained (sectioned). We want to understand what prevents high levels of engagement and inclusion and develop projects which will both help staff within health provide a better service for this cohort and support service users to engage in and access services to help them live well in their communities.
High Deprivation Communities
To improve engagement and trust in the community and statutory mental health services for SMI service users who also live in high areas of deprivation within Gloucestershire, whether city or rural areas. We know that within Gloucestershire health inequalities exists and we have underserved areas. This not only impacts the general population within these areas, but significantly adversely impacts service users with SMI. Such health inequalities lead to poorer health outcomes for a cohort that already experiences a lower life expectancy when compared to the general population. Throughout the health system inequalities exist in: –
- Socio-economic and environmental factors, including income, employment, housing, occupation, and education.
- Lifestyle and health behaviours such as smoking, diet, alcohol intake and levels of physical activity.
We want to understand what prevents high levels of engagement and inclusion for this cohort and develop projects which will both help staff within health provide a better service for this cohort and support service users to engage in and access services to help them live well in their communities.
Who can apply to the fund?
This is a grants fund is specifically for *Gloucestershire based voluntary, community or social enterprise (VCSE) sector organisations. Priority will be given for organisations that have a depth of knowledge and track record of working in one or more locality.
*Definition of Gloucestershire-based: organisations that have offices in Gloucestershire OR have a track record of delivering activities for Gloucestershire residents.
Eligible Costs
- Equipment Costs
- Capital costs
- Training costs
- Project costs
- Event costs
- Revenue/ staff costs
Ineligible Costs
This fund will not offer support for the following costs;
- Funding towards religious projects that promote religion (although religious organisations can be funded for non -religious projects)
- Should funding be used to support the recruitment of any substantive posts then the liability and obligation to source funding for these roles (and/or any associated redundancy/liability costs) sit with the respective organisation.
How to apply or ask questions
You can request a printed application form, a full copy of the application criteria and ask questions by emailing smallgrants.enquiries@ghc.nhs.uk. You can also complete an online application form here: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Yg4S-JQv0EK-toFDsvgz-70tSJ1dvkxEmfgGtAilfr5UN1dJNFBPR0M0Mjc2RkI0QUFCTDQ1WkQyUi4u
A word version of the application form is here: APPLICATION FOR GRANT FUNDING FROM GLOUCESTERSHIRE CMHT Small Grants 2024 – Version 2.1
Award structure
A panel of GHC contracts and finance, VCSE Alliance, Expert by Experience, and GHC clinical staff will compose the quorate for panel applications.
