FUNDING worth more than £620,000 has been awarded by Swansea Council over the last year to organisations across the city which have been helping tackle poverty and enable communities throughout the cost of living crisis.
Thanks to Welsh Government funding, organisations and schools to have benefited include those that provide period dignity support in Swansea by providing free products.
Also thanks to Welsh Government funding, there were 150 successful applications to the household support and direct food support grant schemes for organisations which tackle food poverty and food insecurity.
Between April 2022 and March 2023, organisations have also benefitted from other Welsh Government funded schemes including warm hub grants that have helped fund the provision of Swansea Spaces over the winter that give residents a warm welcome. Over 70 successful applications were supported by the council as part of this scheme.
The council also awarded Welsh Government funding to help establish a sustainable food partnership in Swansea called Bwyd Abertawe to develop a more sustainable local food economy.
Men’s Shed projects across Swansea that provide spaces for men to connect, talk and create are among the other schemes to have benefitted. Over the last year, Swansea Council awarded funding to eight successful Men’s Sheds as part of that project.
Cllr Alyson Pugh, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Well-being, said: “The importance of grants like these can’t be overstated, given the on-going cost of living crisis.
“So as a council, we’ve been doing all we can to encourage applications from organisations that can benefit and administer payments to successful applicants as soon as possible.
“Between these six grant schemes, over 260 applications were approved, which saw the council awarding more than £620,000 in the last year.
“This is important because it’s helped boost projects aimed at tackling food poverty, period poverty, fuel poverty and mental well-being, benefitting people of all ages throughout Swansea.
“The funding is also in addition to fuel support payments made to thousands of residents over the winter.”
Between September 2022 and the end of February this year, the Council made fuel support payments worth a combined total of almost £5.5m to nearly 27,400 residents as part of a scheme funded by the Welsh Government.
