Local Sussex charity Amaze is one of a small number of charities across the UK to receive funding from NHS Charities Together’s Innovation Challenge Fund.
The fund sees £923,100 initial investment in innovative and transformational projects tackling health and healthcare inequalities for children and young people aged 0-18 over the next three years.
Over the next 10 years, NHS Charities Together aims to invest £40million in the Innovation Challenge to help build a healthier future for all.
Amaze has been awarded nearly £40,000 to recruit and train peer mentors, who are young people with SEND themselves, to co-run workshops in primary schools in Sussex, working alongside Aspens and CAHMS in Sussex. The workshops will be co –produced and delivered with input from young people with SEND.
Ella Burns, Young People Services Manager at Amaze said:
“We’re so pleased to be awarded this funding. The opportunity to use the skills and lived experience of our youth workers and young people who attend our Amazing Futures programme is brilliant. Their experiences will be incredibly helpful for younger children with SEND, so they can develop their confidence and advocate for their needs as they transition to secondary school.”
Jon Goodwin, Head of Grants at NHS Charities Together, said:
“We’re delighted to award funds to Amaze to support projects over the next three years. We know that sadly where someone is born can affect their long-term health, and this and other projects across the UK are aimed at tackling unfair health inequalities and giving every young person the support they need.”