West Kent Local News
18 Maidstone Groups Share £48,000 as Council's First Community Grant Round Is Decided
Eighteen Maidstone community organisations - from the town centre's Street Pastors to a trans support network and a group helping new mothers who've lost a baby - have been awarded a share of £48,000, as the first results come in from the Community Grant Scheme the council opened back in July.
Who got what, and for what
The scheme attracted 28 applications in its first round, with 18 of them successful, each receiving between £500 and £4,999. Several of the largest grants went to organisations working with people who are isolated or struggling to access basic services: Age UK Maidstone, Sevenoaks and Tonbridge received £4,999 to help isolated older residents build social connections and access support; We Click CIC received the same amount for its digital-exclusion hub at The Mall; and Maidstone Street Pastors received £4,999 to keep equipping volunteers who look after vulnerable people in the town centre at night.
The Maidstone Trans Network received £3,140 for a new initiative called MITSI - the Maidstone Inclusive Town Safety Initiative - which will work with town centre businesses to improve access to safe toilet facilities and promote what the group calls "policing by behaviour instead of appearance." Phoebe du Maurier of the Trans Network said the funding would pay for 500 practical advice packs, inclusivity audits, and support for more than 50 venues to adopt a "safe refuge pledge," with window stickers marking them out to people who avoid public spaces out of fear of confrontation.
What else the money's funding
- Involve Kent, £4,999 - free drop-in digital skills support
- Making a Difference Maidstone, £4,999 - outreach for people facing poverty and homelessness
- Hi Kent, £2,000 - social group and tech support for deaf and hard-of-hearing residents
- Communigrow, £3,000 - workshops on cutting food waste and household bills
- Maidstone Family Church, £3,000 - Wildfire Youth Club safe space for young people
- Rewrite Your Story, £2,000 - wellbeing and resilience support for young people
- Stones Community Trust, £2,530 - FitStones exercise sessions for over-50s
- CAP Enterprises, £2,000 - WomenKind confidence and resilience course
- Switch Youth Services, £1,000; Hinckley Harriers, £1,000; The Princess Project, £1,000; Making Miracles, £1,000 - youth, inclusive running, family and bereavement support
- Hear Say, £984 - parent support group for families of children with additional needs
- Maidstone Baptist Make Lunch, £500 - holiday lunch club for vulnerable families
Nigel Downes, coordinator of Maidstone Street Pastors, was blunt about what the grant actually pays for: “We use a lot of equipment - bottled water, sick bags, foil blankets, flip-flops, pot noodles, hot drinks, sleeping bags and more. Without grants like this, we simply could not do what we do.”
What's next
This was the first of several planned rounds - the council says more funding will be available before Christmas and again in the new year, continuing to draw on the scheme's wider £140,000 budget for the year. Councillor David Naghi, Cabinet Member for Community Cohesion and Safety, said: “We are fortunate to have so many organisations working hard to support Maidstone residents... I am delighted that Maidstone Borough Council is able to support these projects through its Community Grant Scheme, helping them continue their valuable work and make a lasting difference to local people.” Source: Maidstone Borough Council
