Virtually bid for funding for community projects to tackle serious youth violence in Bedford

Seven community projects designed to tackle serious youth violence in Bedford will be bidding for funding at a virtual voting event this weekend.

Bedfordshire Police has donated £15,000 to the Bid4Better Participatory Budgeting scheme that funds local community projects looking to address these kinds of issues.

Participatory budgeting is a decision-making tool where the community of a particular area get to decide where part of a public budget should be spent to combat an issue.

The seven projects are based in the Kempston, Kingsbrook and Cauldwell areas of Bedford and each has submitted a short video about what they are planning to do to tackle the issues in their area.

The virtual voting event will be held on Saturday, August 22, – from 2pm to 4pm - and will give individuals living in these communities the opportunity to vote for the project they think will have the most impact.

Chief Inspector Mo Aziz, from the Bedford community policing team, said: “This is a great opportunity if you are a resident in one of these three areas, as you are able to have your say over which project is chosen to help tackle youth violence issues within your community.

“We want to encourage as many people as possible to register for the virtual voting event on 22 August.

"The online voting process is fun and creative and you can find out more of what is happening in your area. There is also the chance to win a special prize too!”

To take part in the event you need to follow and like the Bid4Better Facebook page for more information.

You will then need to register with this Eventbrite link - www.eventbrite.com/x/bid4better - and you will receive an email which will give you the link to Zoom meeting, which is how the voting event will take place.

You can also email [email protected] or [email protected] to find out more information about how to register.

For more information or support about getting out of a gang, visit: bedsveru.org.