Community safety projects awarded £900,000 from Police and Crime Commissioner
A pioneering education programme teaching young people lifesaving first aid skills and the real consequences of carrying knives is among dozens of local groups set to be awarded funding by Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden.
The Nottingham Lifesavers programme will be delivered by StreetDoctors Ltd and will empower participants to respond in emergencies and encourage them to make positive life choices.
The project will train 200 young people in alternative education provision as well as city and county schools in areas affected by street violence as ‘street doctors’, who are capable and willing to step forward and help others in the community during an emergency.
A total of £900,000 is being invested over the next four years to support innovative local projects that prevent crime, protect vulnerable people, and strengthen communities right across Nottinghamshire.
The funding, delivered by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC), supports both multi-year strategic programmes and smaller community-led initiatives that respond directly to local needs.
All successful projects will support PCC Godden in partnership work to deliver his priorities in the Police and Crime Plan (2025–2029), including tackling serious violence and antisocial behaviour, preventing Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), protecting the vulnerable, and building trust and confidence in policing.
By investing directly in grassroots projects, the fund aims to empower communities to take ownership of the issues affecting them most, ensuring that local solutions are at the heart of lasting change.
The fund has seen record levels of interest this year, with 120 applications received requesting a total of £4.9 million in funding, the highest number of bids ever submitted to a Nottinghamshire PCC community fund. Following a competitive selection process, 19 projects have been funded in total, including 13 multi-year programmes and six Community Chest grants.
This year’s successful applications reflect the broad scope of community safety challenges across Nottinghamshire, ranging from early intervention and youth mentoring to support for vulnerable adults, tackling knife crime, and promoting social inclusion.
Other projects include:
Reach Learning Disability – “Safe, Strong and Included”
This pioneering three-year initiative helps adults with learning disabilities feel safer and more empowered within their communities. It delivers safety awareness workshops, builds peer networks, and ensures people know how to report exploitation or abuse, promoting confidence, independence, and inclusion.
Take 1 Studio – “Behind the Hype”
A powerful film-based youth project that helps young people explore the real consequences of violence, exploitation, and crime. Working with local young people to co-create five-minute short films, the initiative builds confidence, media skills, and resilience through creative expression.
Trent Bridge Community Trust – “Positive Futures”
Using the power of sport and mentoring, this project engages at-risk young people across Nottinghamshire, improving wellbeing, confidence, and community pride. Through cricket and positive role models, it helps divert young people from antisocial behaviour and crime.
Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden said: “The Safer Nottinghamshire Together fund is about empowering people and places that are making a real difference.
“We received an incredible 120 applications for funding this year, with a combined total request of nearly £5 million, the highest level of interest we’ve ever seen. That just shows the strength, creativity and commitment of our local voluntary and community sector.
“In the end, 19 projects were selected for funding, 13 multi-year and six Community Chest, representing the very best of what Nottinghamshire has to offer in tackling harm, protecting the vulnerable, and building stronger, safer neighbourhoods.
“Some of the most effective solutions to crime come from the communities themselves, those who live, work, and care about the area every day. That’s why this fund is so important; it enables local people and organisations to take the lead and think differently in creating positive change.
“These projects show the diversity, compassion and determination that exists across Nottinghamshire - from empowering adults with learning disabilities, to mentoring young people through sport, and tackling knife crime through education and awareness.
“Through this investment, we’re turning the ambitions of my Police and Crime Plan into action, supporting real people, changing real lives, and delivering a safer, fairer Nottinghamshire for everyone.”
The Safer Nottinghamshire Together Grants are part of the Commissioner’s wider programme of investment in community safety, which also includes the Situational Crime Prevention Fund and the Safer Streets Summer Initiative.
Funding was open to voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations across Nottinghamshire, with successful projects selected for their measurable impact, sustainability, and ability to address local priorities.
For a full list of successful applicants and details of all funded projects, visit: www.nottinghamshire.pcc.police.uk/safer-nottinghamshire-together