A project that provides young people in Corby a safe space to learn and play music has been awarded funding by Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone.
Through Danielle’s Safe and Sound Communities Fund, £10,000 has been awarded to Project M, a youth music project giving young people aged 12-18 access to music teachers and equipment in sessions run by The Core at Corby Cube.
The grant will ensure that the project, which has been running since 2022, can continue providing a positive and inspiring learning environment for young people to spend their evenings.
During the sessions, which are free, the young people are supported by music professionals to learn how to sing, how to play instruments and how to write, produce and perform music. The sessions are also frequently visited by other organisations to help inspire and guide the young attendees.
The grant will help to fund the professionals who support the young people during sessions.
As well as gaining music skills and the confidence to express themselves, Project M gives young people access to mental health support, with pastoral carers on site to help with wellbeing.
Joe Flavin, Director of The Core at Corby Cube, started the project following a conversation with Corby Town Centre Director Dan Pickard about how they could provide a creative space for young people to call their own and divert them away from antisocial behaviour in the town centre.
He said: “The young people attending Project M over the past four years have been an inspiration to all of us. Whilst some of them might have initially presented with challenging behaviours, we have been delighted to see how the project has brought the best out of them and helped to steer them onto a more positive pathway towards adulthood.
“Both The Core at Corby Cube and Willow Place Shopping Centre are delighted and grateful for this new partnership with the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner as we look to develop the project further to serve the needs of young people in Corby.”
Dan Pickard (pictured below), who provided the space for Project M to run their sessions, said:
“I am delighted that Danielle Stone has awarded this vital grant to Project M. We joined forces with Joe and his team 4 years ago to seek positive solutions to growing youth ASB throughout the town centre in Corby.
“To help Joe achieve his aspiration for a creative hub within the town centre, an agreement was made to give a vacant unit to Project M, so it had a dedicated safe space to operate.
“With the loss of some external funding at the end of last year, the PFCC Safe & Sound Communities Fund grant has given Project M the lifeline it needed to continue with the amazing work they do.”
Danielle wanted to award the funding to ensure the project can continue guiding more young people in Corby into brighter futures through positive activities.
She said, “I am so pleased to award this grant through my Safe and Sound Communities Fund. The money will ensure that this fantastic project can keep providing a positive, creative space.
“The project gives young people a purpose and direction and keeps them off of the streets. It is a pleasure to support a programme that is having such an impact.”
The Safe and Sound Communities Fund provides grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 for initiatives that support the aims of the new Safe and Sound Plan. To apply for a grant, visit: Safe and Sound Communities Fund – Northamptonshire Police & Fire Commissioner
