Lincolnshire Traveller Initiative

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This charity states it is committed to creating opportunities, community cohesion and positive futures for Lincolnshire’s Traveller communities.  It aims to empower families and provide tailored services to meet their needs.  It supports the Traveller community across the county of Lincolnshire, running various projects and schemes. The work is split into four main areas – these are an advocacy project assisting people with other services and offering support at meetings etc; an education project via a mobile classroom that regularly visits sites across the area; an employability scheme offering support with training and developing skills; and a health initiative that aims to improve health and wellbeing.

At the February 2023 meeting, the Allen Lane Foundation has offered a £10,000 single grant for the employability programme.  The charity aims to work with at least 25 individuals on a fairly in-depth level over the year, helping each person to identify their strengths and create individual personalised career plans.  This will involve specific training and support aimed at raising their employment prospects, and support with writing CVs, help looking for jobs and making job applications.  Intended outcomes from the programme are that all participants will feel more confident about gaining employment; they will have increased skills and qualifications; and at least 30% will be support into employment within the period.

www.lincsti.co.uk

Development Education in Dorset (DEED) 

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DEED is a charitable company that works to tackle poverty, injustice and inequality and works with marginalised groups and local communities in Dorset. It runs training and educational workshops, and also specific project based around particular issues, such as around faith and ethnicity.

At the June 2020 meeting, Allen Lane offered funding of £6,000 that will contribute towards a project working with Gypsy Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities.  This will be run as a partnership project with two GRT organisations Kushi Bok and Life Changing Choices, as well as Dorset Race Equality Council. The project aims to increase understanding and cohesion between GRT and non-GRT communities through a series of activities, training, skills development and events.  Outcomes from the project include improved relations within communities; improved confidence and skills for GRT communities; and reduced isolation of, and discrimination against, GRT people locally.

www.deed.org.uk

Newton Heath Youth Project CIC

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Newton Heath Youth Project is a community organisation working in the Newton Heath area of Manchester.  Initially set up to work with disadvantaged children and young people, it has expanded to offer various community projects, activities and events to benefit adults, families and older people.

The Foundation has offered a grant of £8,000 towards a specific project working with women from the local Traveller community.  This project began in 2018 with a weekly drop-in and safe place to meet – it was requested by the women themselves as there were no specific services or groups in the area that catered for them.  The group has grown quickly and there are now 20-25 women attending each week.  Activities range from educational art, crafts, cooking and visits to places of interest, many of the women use the time to seek advice and guidance on everyday issues, some unique to the Traveller community.  Support is provided including advocacy and advice around help in dealing with problems at school for the women’s children; or help developing CVs, applying for jobs or accommodation for example.  Overall this work’s outcomes include the women having improved confidence and self-esteem; improved knowledge of, and access to, local services; and better community cohesion in the local area.

 

GATE Herts

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GATE (Gypsy and Traveller Empowerment) works on behalf of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities across Hertfordshire from a base in Ware. It offers advice, information and advocacy on all kinds of issues including education, planning and housing, homelessness, health and employment for example. It works with people on a one-to-one basis, at drop-in sessions, and through outreach at sites. GATE aims to empower members of the community by supporting the development of their capacity and skills, and helping to meet their needs. Overall it works with more than 200 families each year. Outcomes of the work includes improved relations between Gypsy/Traveller and non-Gypsy/Traveller communities; improved skills for individuals; and reduced isolation and discrimination.

At the October 2019 meeting of Trustees, the Allen Lane Foundation approved a grant of £5,000 towards GATE Herts. This will assist with core costs, including the rent of the office premises.

www.gateherts.org.uk

A Living Tradition

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A Living Tradition is a Community Interest Company (CIC), and has been running for eight years.  The company uses the human rights history of the Northeast of England as an inspiration to encourage the development of the values of solidarity, tolerance and fairness today.  Based in Newcastle and Gateshead, its main focus is on supporting people in the local Roma community.  It has run several events in the local area, has also worked in schools, and has input into issues around hate crime and the experiences of Roma people with policy makers.

At the February 2019 meeting, Trustees awarded a grant of £3,000 to this organisation.  The funding will contribute towards costs of running a weekly drop-in Information Exchange.  Each week anywhere between ten and twenty people attend and benefit from advice and information on a range of issues such as education, housing, health and debt. Advisors from agencies such as the Citizens Advice Bureau also come to the drop-in to ensure their services are accessible to the Roma community.  Outcomes from the work are that the Roma community will have improved access to local information and services, better integration into society, and a build-up of trust within the local area.

www.alivingtradition.org

 

One Voice 4 Travellers

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This organisation operates across East Anglia from its base on a Gypsy and Traveller site near Wisbech.  It works in partnership with others to provide support to Gypsy and Traveller communities, reduce all forms of violence, improve health and wellbeing, and promote equality and good relations with the settled communities.  It is a well-established and well-regarded organisation offering advocacy, advice and help to individuals, and runs a number of projects.

The Foundation has awarded One Voice 4 Travellers a grant of £9,950 over a two-year period. This is towards the GATE (Gypsy and Traveller Empowerment) project which is building on previous domestic abuse work titled ‘Breaking the Cycle of Abuse’. GATE will raise awareness and provide information to women about healthy relationships, choice, control and abuse, and empower them to be more in control of their own lives.  It aims to involve 60 women living in or travelling through Norfolk over the two years – to increase their confidence, self-esteem and mental wellbeing; to give them a voice and empower them to make choices for themselves.

All Party Parliamentary Group for Gypsies, Roma and Travellers

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The All Party Parliamentary Group for Gypsies, Roma and Travellers aims to “promote rights and justice for Gypsy Roma and Traveller minorities who face the most severe forms of racism”.  It provides a key role in briefing parliamentarians and policy makers in issues affecting GRT communities in order to advocate for legislation and policies that promote GRT rights.  The Secretariat for the Group provides briefings of key issues and areas where it is felt that the APPG could have some influence with ministers.  The Secretariat role has very recently been taken over by the national charity Friends Families and Travellers.

Allen Lane Foundation has awarded funding of £5,000 towards the further engagement of GRT community members with informing and influencing this work.  A community engagement role at one-day-per-week will coordinate a pool of individuals to ensure that the Gypsy Roma and Traveller communities and local groups have some input into national policy.  Over the coming year, the work is likely to focus on issues including the Government’s review of eviction powers; education outcomes; and planning and delivery of site provision.

York Travellers Trust

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York Travellers Trust has been working with, and supporting, the Gypsy and Traveller communities in and around York for more than 30 years. Its main aims are to empower Gypsies and Travellers; to improve their quality of life; and to enable them to become actively involved citizens. The charity’s core work is to provide essential services, training, and one-to-one assistance to community members which address their needs, especially in terms of education, employment, housing, social welfare, planning and engagement and participation.

In February 2018, the Foundation made a two-year grant of £3,500 per annum towards the York Travellers Trust’s general running costs. Over the period, the charity anticipates that it will benefit Gypsies and Travellers with increased confidence and employment options through building up their skills and learning; and by being better informed through tailored advice provision. It also aims to improve relations with the settled community through raising awareness of the Gypsy and Traveller communities, and providing training to public services and local organisations.

www.yorktravellerstrust.wordpress.com

Byker Community Centre

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This charity offers a multitude of activities and services for people living in the Byker area of Newcastle.  It works with and directly supports a number of the beneficiary groups which the Foundation funds. It offers a weekly lunch club for older people; runs two LGBT groups, one weekly and one monthly; and runs a weekly group in partnership with another organisation for women as part of their parole conditions, or for women at risk of offending.  In addition, the Centre’s activities help asylum seekers and refugees, Gypsies and Travellers, and people with mental health conditions.

In October 2016, the Foundation agreed a £5,000 grant towards the core costs of running the Centre.  Over the year, the charity aims to develop a fortnightly group working with female sex workers, and increase the current lunchtime provision for older people into a full day’s session.


TravellerSpace

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TravellerSpace is a charity based in Penzance, which was established to support Gypsies and Travellers in Cornwall and the South West. It helps people to access services and opportunities available to the wider community, and to have a voice in decision and policy-making decisions. The charity works with more than 300 individuals a year and runs various sessions, groups and projects.

Funding has been made totalling £6,000 over two years which is contributing towards the rent of premises for TravellerSpace.

www.travellerspace-cornwall.org