Charities across Cleveland have received more than £180,000 to protect victims and vulnerable people, who may face barriers to accessing support.
A total of £182,167 has been allocated to 13 local organisations as part of Police and Crime Commissioner Matt Storey’s Protect and Support Fund.
One-off grants have been provided to charities who work with people, who for a variety of reasons, do not tend to access support – including specialist support after being a victim of crime.
Projects range from a befriending service for female victims of domestic abuse over the age of 50, to targeted safety and protection for autistic and neurodivergent young people who are disproportionately at risk of becoming victims of crime or harm.
Cleveland PCC Matt Storey said: “One of the key priorities in my Police and Crime Plan is to make sure victims and vulnerable people get the right support.
“Part of that objective is to make sure they feel supported and listened to, as well as to have access to high-quality services at the right time.
“The Protect and Support Fund gave me a chance to pilot new approaches to help achieve those aims and enhance the brilliant support provisions we already have in place.
“I believe the projects we have supported will reach a wide range of diverse communities, offering support tailored specifically to their needs.”
The full list of successful applications are:
- Eva Women’s Aid – £7,500 – To support delivery of a range of specialist groupwork programmes for women who are victims/survivors of domestic and/or sexual violence.️
- Age UK Teesside – £15,000 – To support delivery of a short-term befriending service for female victims of domestic abuse aged 50+ living in the Middlesbrough area.
- Hart Gables – £12,384 – To deliver targeted support for victims of LGBTQ+ hate, expanding existing work with underrepresented LGBTQ+ communities.
- Brake – £9,100 – To support the provision of specialist support for road traffic victims.
- Open Door North East – £14,868 – To support delivery of ‘Safe Steps: Preparing Clients for Safety and Life in the UK’ initiative including targeted safety and support workshops for asylum seekers and refugees living in Home Office accommodation.
- Daisy Chain Project Teesside – £15,000 –To support the Stronger Voices project that will protect and support autistic and neurodivergent young people (aged 14–25) who are disproportionately at risk of becoming vulnerable victims of crime, exploitation, and serious harm.
- Creative Minds and Purple Rose – £15,000 – To deliver 20 sessions to Black, Asian and Global Majority (BAGM) women with a focus on safety and support including how to report to access services.
- Catalyst Stockton – £15,000 – To support the establishment a dedicated Community Connector based at The Wellbeing Hub in Stockton-on-Tees, ensuring victims of crime, abuse, and trauma are compassionately signposted to appropriate services.
- Arch Teesside – £15,000 – To support the introduction of a navigator role, which will provide trauma-informed support to survivors of sexual violence who are awaiting access to counselling or ISVA services.
- TransformersHPL – £9,500 – To deliver a series of community workshops and events to raise awareness and help communities to recognise certain domestic abuse incidents that go unnoticed/unreported under the guise of culture.
- Refugee Futures – £14,855 – Funding will be used to reach and support under-represented groups through working with people seeking asylum and refugees in Stockton building community knowledge and confidence in local support services.
- Deaf Empowering Network – £13,820 – To support the delivery of a one-day multi-agency awareness and engagement event in Cleveland, bringing together emergency services, domestic abuse support agencies, safeguarding partners, and national Video Remote Service (VRS) providers to demonstrate how their services can support Deaf people.
- My Sisters Place – £13,740 – To support the delivery of a secure, multilingual online chat service providing victims of domestic abuse in Cleveland with fast, safe, and discreet access to support.
The funding came from the Police Property Act Fund, which uses money from the sale of recovered stolen goods, whose owners cannot be traced.
In total, the Police and Crime Commissioner invests almost £2m every year in specialist support to help victims of crime, domestic abuse and sexual violence to recover from their experiences.
Between April 2024 and March 2025, 19,195 people in Cleveland accessed victim support. Over half were new users of the services they accessed.