Grants awarded to local organisations

Three local councillors have allocated £2500 to local organisations as part of the Locality Budget Scheme. 

Councillor Rachel Carter (Hertford St. Andrew’s) has given £500 to Home Start Hertfordshire to fund the delivery of a 1:1 home-visiting service.

The service helps to reduce the time families are having to wait for support, thus avoiding other costly, state funded interventions. The funding will also help match a trained, skilled Volunteer Family Mentor with a family, to visit them in the comfort of their own home, on a 1:1 basis, each week, for 2-3 hours.

The volunteers offer emotional and practical support to help parents cope better, re-build confidence and face their challenges. Volunteers offer advice and coping strategies to parents to bring into their everyday lives therefore helping provide their children the stable, nurturing family life they need.

Last year, HomeStart offered support to 264 families throughout Hertfordshire, including 850 individual family members 323 children under the age of 5.

HSH offers early intervention support to prevent struggles worsening within families, mitigating the harmful impact on children’s development. Unsupported mental health issues can exacerbate stresses on a family, potentially leading to long-term societal costs for individuals, families, communities, and the society at large.

Young parents need all the support they can get in these challenging times, and some need more than others. I have been impressed with the Home Start volunteers I have met and with their dedication to the young families they help.

:: Councillor Rachel Carter

And together, with Ware councillor Kirsty Taylor Moran (Ware North), Cllr Carter has also given a further £2000 to Celtic Harmony to help provide bursaries for pre-history trips.

The grant will enable Celtic Harmony to provide 40 disadvantaged children from Hertford Schools, who have been a recipient of the Wellbeing through Prehistory bursary previously, access to immersive Prehistory trips at Celtic Harmony Camp. The project aims to improve the wellbeing, confidence, and educational engagement of pupils eligible for Free School Meals (FSM), who are disproportionately affected by financial hardship.

Children will benefit from hands-on learning experiences in nature, developing practical skills, teamwork, resilience, and a greater sense of belonging to their cultural and natural heritage. Teachers report that 89% of pupils enjoy being outdoors, 85% learn new skills, and 90% learn about Prehistory hands-on. These trips have a measurable positive impact on children’s mood, confidence, and classroom engagement.

By removing financial barriers, this grant will help schools include all pupils, regardless of background, encouraging inclusion, wellbeing and lifelong learning. The outcomes support improved mental health, stronger peer relationships and enhanced educational outcomes, contributing to closing the disadvantage gap for vulnerable children.

The Celtic Harmony Camp provides an outstanding hands-on experience of nature and prehistory for school age children. I am delighted to be able to contribute to a fund which will enable children whose families would not otherwise be able to afford it, to visit to this beautiful site.

:: Councillor Rachel Carter

Councillor Ben Crystal (Hertford All Saints) has given £200 to Hertfordshire County Council to help provide a programme of artistic residencies consisting of practical workshops and community engagement, suitable for all residents of Hertfordshire.

The funding has covered the cost of paying an artist in residence at Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies and Hertford Library. The cost also included paying a project officer who manages the project and coordinates each residency and went towards the materials needed to deliver each workshop and production of promotional materials to ensure we’re reaching our target audiences within Hertfordshire.

This programme is part of the portfolio for developing the library as a vibrant community asset, it will enable libraries to encompass their vision of enriching their communities by fostering local culture and heritage and provide opportunities for citizens to participate actively in community life.

This will help make our library spaces to be even more important places for the community - to encourage arts, creativity and imagination and to bring the county's history to life!

:: Councillor Ben Crystal