Mayor of West Yorkshire
Women of West Yorkshire 2023 Leeds City Museum March 9th
Join the Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin to celebrate the achievements of women and girls and to explore how we can create a more equal world through thought-provoking discussions, inspiring talks and incredible performances.
From learning how to build confidence to a masterclass on menopause we will be exploring how we can #EmbraceEquity through a range of topics and create a safer and fairer future for all.
We will be hearing from a wide-range of speakers who will be sharing their experiences, knowledge and advice to generate discussion, empower and to bring about positive change.
The event will be free and held from 10am – 4:30pm on Thursday 9th March at the historic Leeds City Museum in Millennium Square, Leeds, LS2 8BH.
This event is open to everyone, but please note that there are limited spaces. To book yours, register your attendance by using the link below.
The full event programme will be announced soon.
Women of West Yorkshire 2023 Tickets, Thu 9 Mar 2023 at 10:00 | Eventbrite
Verd De Gris : Empowering Women to bring about Social Change March 3rd
To celebrate International Women’s Day, Verd De Gris invites you for a day where women from diverse backgrounds from across West Yorkshire become One Voice for Social Change.
Further information including agenda for the day and highlights
Join us at The Gaygill Rooms at The Piece Hall
Friday 3rd March 2023
9.30 am – 14.30 pm
Drawing on the life experiences of women from communities across Calderdale, special guests include Holly Lynch MP & Alison Lowe OBE West Yorkshire Deputy Mayor.
Crucially, we want to look at what we can do together to address some of the key factors that impact on health, opportunity, aspiration and social justice. The event will draw on the life experiences of women from diverse communities across Calderdale, using their voices to raise awareness of keys issues, and importantly, discuss ways in which lived experience can be used to inform and help shape policy and decision making at a local regional and national level.
We want to make sure that the voices of women and girls are included in regional and national discussions around health, poverty and social cohesion. We want to make our communities stronger. And by creating this safe space for visitors to learn and connect around tough local issues, we aim to provide a unique opportunities for people to get involved in helping to shape and influence change.
This event has been made possible thanks to support from West Yorkshire Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund, The National Lottery Community Fund and the Community Foundation for Calderdale.
If you would like more information please contact Sharon:
tel: 07907 822323
web: www.verddegris.org
Places are limited. Booking via www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/516816390737
Keep up to date with other events as they happen by following our Facebook page Verd de gris arts and on Twitter and Instagram
Twitter @verddegris
Instagram @verddegris
A new Calderdale Cost of Living Fund for VCSE organisations
There is £226,950 available for local community and voluntary groups based in Calderdale, with contributions from
- Calderdale Council
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority via the Mayor’s Cost of Living Emergency Fund
- Community Foundation for Calderdale.
This funding is designed to help local voluntary and community groups continue to support people in need throughout Winter as the demand for services rises.
There are 3 strands to the funding – emergency support, prevention (warm & welcoming spaces) and building resilience. These strands have been brought together in to one fund to try and reduce the amount of time local groups spend on writing applications.
You’ll find all the details in the guidance but here is an ‘at a glance’ table showing the key elements of the Calderdale Cost of Living Fund:
Please note, the majority of funds need to be spent by end March 2023 as the focus for the fund is supporting Calderdale residents through the Winter.
You can apply for one, two or all three strands of funding if your organisation is eligible.
Click below to apply online before the closing date for applications on Friday 9th December 10am.
Click here to apply to the Calderdale Cost of Living Fund
These funds may be of interest particularly organisations who offer warm and welcoming spaces.
“Our time is now” – Plan launched to improve safety of women and girls across West Yorkshire
The safety of women and girls in West Yorkshire is Mayor Tracy Brabin’s top priority, she said as she unveiled a plan to bring about societal change and end generations of injustice.The country’s first and only female metro-mayor has this week launched her Safety of Women and Girls Strategy at West Yorkshire’s annual Third Sector Conference in Calderdale.The strategy reveals the shocking experiences and challenges facing women and girls, including a recent survey that found 97% believe ‘being a woman’ affects their personal safety, and outlines a plan to tackle this.This will be resolved through four key areas of work to bring about change:
- Education and Prevention: through events to raise awareness of the issue in schools, colleges, and universities across the region.
- Behaviour Change: including delivering a behaviour change programme to empower men to be allies.
- Safe Spaces: working to improve safety in the public, private and digital space.
- And Supporting the Sector: securing funding for vital services in the region through working together with partners, including the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector and private businesses.
Each are underpinned by two cross-cutting themes, which are ‘the role of men and boys’, and ‘equality, diversity and inclusion’.The strategy, which puts the voices of women and girls at its heart, will be delivered in partnership with West Yorkshire Police, local councils, community organisations, businesses, and the public. A further £1 million of funding has been made available by the Mayor to support the it’s delivery. This builds on considerable work already ongoing in the region including:
- £14 million for victims’ services across the next three years, many of which support women and girls.
- A SmartTag spray for use in night-time venues that tags offenders with a unique forensic code so they can be identified and brought to justice.
- Funding “Ask for Angela” services which enables those who feel vulnerable or unsafe to seek assistance in bars, clubs or businesses.
- Over £500,000 for domestic abuse perpetrator programmes across West Yorkshire to reduce re-offending.
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “We owe it to every little girl growing up in our brilliant and diverse region to provide them with a future where they are safe from harm. Male violence against women and girls is a scourge that must be addressed, and as someone who has experienced this first-hand, I have made that my top priority.“This plan, which has been co-designed with women, male allies and organisations across the region, sets out how together, we can make West Yorkshire a safe, just and inclusive place for women and girls.“Our time is now – we must do this together to overcome generations of injustice and harm and drive this important change.”
Alison Lowe OBE, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, said: “As a survivor of sexual and domestic abuse, I feel a strong personal responsibility towards making West Yorkshire safer for women and girls.“When it happened to me many years ago, I did not believe that I had a voice. But I am here now as the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime in West Yorkshire to tell you that you will be heard, you will be believed, and you will be supported.“This Strategy builds on years of work, there’s still lots to do, but I can’t wait to see the incredible things we will achieve together.”The Mayor of West Yorkshire’s Safety of Women and Girls Strategy was co-designed through dedicated consultation events, a West Yorkshire wide call for evidence and public feedback from the Police and Crime Plan consultation.To find out more about the ongoing work to improve the safety of women and girls and read the strategy, visit https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/a-mayoral-combined-authority/mayoral-pledges/the-safety-of-women-and-girls/safety-of-women-and-girls-strategy/.
Mayor of West Yorkshire urges community organisations to apply for biggest funding pot yet
Groups across West Yorkshire that are helping to end the scourge of violence in the region are being urged to step forward and apply for the Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund.
Application Deadline November 11
West Yorkshire Mayor, Tracy Brabin, has made £350,000 available to voluntary and community groups, charities, and partners with an innovative project that will make their local area safer.This is the largest round of the Safer Communities Fund which has supported projects to the tune of £4.3 million since 2014. It will focus on ‘Safer Places and Thriving Communities’ and the Mayor is welcoming applications from projects that address anti-social behaviour, serious violence including knife crime, drug misuse, hate crime, road safety and more.The Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund is financed by money from criminal activities recovered by police and prosecutors under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Through the fund, this money is used for projects that aim to make their communities a safer and better place.Recognising the financial challenges many organisations are currently facing, the Mayor has increased the amount of funding a project can apply for, from £6,000 to £8,000. Organisations have until 11th November to get their bids in for funding.Speaking about the opening, Mayor Brabin said: “I am determined to end the scourge of violence on the streets of West Yorkshire – whether that is hate crimes, county lines gangs exploiting our children or violence against women and girls. This has no place in our society.“That’s why we are providing vital money to organisations that are helping to build a safe, just, and inclusive region.“I encourage anyone with a project that aims to make their local area safer to apply.”West Yorkshire Police Chief Constable John Robins QPM DL, said: “The Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund is an excellent way for local groups, projects and organisations to make use of cash we have seized from criminals, so it is put back into the hands of people who want to make their community a better place.“I welcome the opening of the latest grant round and would urge anyone with a community-based initiative to consider applying for this funding, so it can be used to address local issues and make our neighbourhoods safer.”This announcement comes after the Mayor and her Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Alison Lowe OBE, awarded funds to 61 innovative projects from across West Yorkshire.Some of the latest projects to receive this funding include drugs intervention and prevention workshops for men and boys in Bradford, weekly self-defence and fitness classes for women in Kirklees, and a programme for young offenders, combining rehabilitation with horsemanship, in Leeds.This latest grant round of the Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund is open until 11th November 2022, 12pm (noon). Organisations can apply for grants of up to £8000 for projects that align with the Mayor’s Police and Crime Plan.For more information about the fund, including how to apply, visit https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/policing-and-crime/mayor-s-safer-communities-fund.
Calderdale Lower Valley blog 