Boston has been chosen by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to received £185,000 which is part of £22.5 million funding set aside for local authorities in England to address differences, by improving the reach of information on vaccine safety and increasing vaccine confidence across communities.
This follows on from the previous success of the first Community Champions programme which Boston named the Empowering Healthy Communities Programme, this was launched in January 2021. This scheme already demonstrates that local people can be highly effective in explaining to those in their communities the importance of vaccinations and to help them understand the research so they can make informed decisions.
The programme has already allowed us to provide:
- Translation support services for our community including leaflets and promotional material on Covid-19, vaccination messages and wider health issues;
- Relevant and appropriate health campaigns aimed at under 30s;
- A number of funded local projects to allow small groups to recover from the impact of Covid-19;
- Focus on language support though our partnership with Haven High Academy Language Lab;
- Funding has provided 30 mental health first aid trainers in the Boston area, who can support the whole community;
- Support for young people though our Youth Ambassador scheme.
We continue to maximise the diversity and strength of our local community leaderships through the programme and there are many other critical and impactful projects, find out more at www.mybostonuk.com/ehcprogramme
Cllr Martin Griggs, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities at Boston Borough Council, said: “We are incredibly grateful for the effort and innovation our community champions in the borough have put into the Empowering Healthy Communities Programme so far and are proud of the outcomes we have seen from this.
“I am truly grateful that we have been chosen by Government for further funding to enhance this programme further and allow us to dig even deeper into our communities to help gain the confidence of our diverse communities across the borough.
“Please do not delay, if you haven’t already please get your Covid-19 Vaccines and Booster to protect you and your family as we move into 2022.”