Among the organisations receiving the Lottery good cause grants are the Leeds Involvement Project and Batley Self-Help Depression Group.
The awards are helping voluntary and community groups to reach out to those most in need by supporting services that are creating vibrant, healthy and safe communities across England.
Vanessa White, Big Lottery Fund Head of Yorkshire and The Humber Region, said: "The Big Lottery Fund is eager to fund initiatives that bring very real benefits to local communities across the Yorkshire and The Humber region. Today's Lottery good cause awards from the Fund are hugely diverse in both the work they do and the communities they serve.
"Today's grants are among the last to be awarded through this particular programme, which has delivered over £222 million to the region through more than 2080 grants enabling local people to strive to improve quality of life. New funding schemes, including the Reaching Communities programme have opened up fresh funding opportunities. Details of these are available on the Fund's website at http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
The Leeds Involvement Project, an organisation of community care users and carers, has been awarded £255,426 to increase participation in local decision-making.
"The Big Lottery Fund grant is great news," said Leeds Involvement Project manager Lucy Wilkinson. "It will allow us to build on the preparatory work we have already undertaken to improve input into local-decision making on issues affecting older people and those with disabilities.
"We have already established five geographic groups in Leeds, which give people an opportunity to shape the community care services they use at a local level. The benefit of lottery funding is that it gives members of these groups complete independence to make their views known."
Batley Self-Help Depression Group is to receive £215,297 to continue the provision of its support services to people with severe depression.
"Receiving this Big Lottery Fund award is really important to us," said Marion Dixon, founder and chief executive of Batley Self-Help Depression Group. "It gives us the funds to continue our work, and means that we can take on extra help to run the group.
"I founded it nine years ago because I saw that people leaving hospital needed more support in the community. Some people have no family or friends.
"Now we see around 90 people a week. Anyone can come to us for help; they don't have to be referred, although we do take referrals from health and social services. We run self-help therapy groups that take place in a small room where people feel safe and secure. Members of these groups are really supportive of each other. We also run art therapy classes and groups that share music, and encourage reading and writing to get people to express themselves. People find it quite liberating.
"We have just piloted successful one-to-one therapy sessions with counsellors in training at a local college. We hope to expand on this as one of our services in future."
An award also goes to Henshaw's Society for Blind People which has been awarded £155,237 to extend its service for visually impaired children and their families in North and West Yorkshire.
"The award from the Big Lottery Fund is essential for this project to go ahead and gives us a real shot in the arm," said Henshaw's Society for Blind People chief executive Dianne Asher. "We have had a successful programme running in Manchester for 10 years and thought we could provide one in Yorkshire. So often, the parents and brothers and sisters of a visually impaired child are overlooked because all the attention goes on the child.
"The Fund's award will enable us to take on more professional help so we can give more support and information to parents at the time their child is diagnosed. We will also be able to offer greater opportunities for play and social activities for children and their siblings, and show parents how they can play with their visually impaired child. In addition, we will be running awareness training, particularly in schools, so that children gain a understanding of what it means to be visually impaired."
A list of all the grants being announced today in the region is available on http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/newsroom/vcs.htm
Big Lottery Fund
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
