The COVID-19 Community Recovery Fund, set up by Cumbria’s crime commissioner, has supported a charity which helps young people.
Spiral, which aims to help youngsters deal with their mental health, launched a project to recruit extra volunteers to help young people to manage their anxiety as a result of the COVID-19 lockdowns, make sense of difficult emotions and reduce their feeling of isolation and loneliness.
Maryann Liddle, project manager at Spiral, said: “The support Spiral received from the fund has been a great help in keeping the small charity running during this difficult time.
“COVID-19 has caused a lot of uncertainty in people’s lives.
“The difference the funding has made is that staff have remained employed and able to focus their time on the recruitment of additional volunteers who are able to help young people and give something back to their community.
“The volunteers do an amazing job in supporting young people, helping them to manage and make sense of their difficult emotions and reduce the feeling of isolation which many people are experiencing at the moment.
“Everyone at Spiral would like to say thank you to Cumbria’s crime commissioner in supporting our project.”
Crime commissioner Peter McCall said: “It is not surprising that young people, like many of us, are feeling increasingly anxious, uncertain and low as the third lockdown is introduced in Cumbria.
“The COVID-19 crisis has caused significant changes in routine, especially for young people, with huge changes to ‘normal life’, complete uncertainty about the future, increased anxiety due to loss of connection with their peers and so many unknowns about the future of exam grades.
“This is why the Community COVID-19 Recovery fund is supporting organisations such as Spiral.
“The fund has helped them with costs needed for additional recruitment and training of volunteers who help to support young people and parents of young people in Cumbria, with one-to-one support, either over the phone or online.
“The project supports people who are experiencing increased anger and anxiety about being around their peers and other members of the public for example.
“The volunteers show young people how to develop techniques that help to regulate difficult emotions and enable them to learn new strategies on how to focus and view situations differently.
“Local charities, voluntary and community groups have been carrying out a significant amount of valuable work in our communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure that those people who need help are being supported.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those that have worked selflessly to support our communities.”
