Community and voluntary groups across Northern Ireland are being encouraged to apply for grants aimed at boosting mental health and emotional wellbeing within their local areas.

The Public Health Agency's (PHA) 'Making Life Better' short-term funding grant programme opens for applications today, Monday 28th April.

Fiona Teague, the PHA's Regional Lead for Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing, emphasised the crucial role of community organisations. "Community and voluntary organisations are acutely aware of the issues that affect people on the ground and this short-term funding programme will give them the opportunity to address issues of mental health and emotional wellbeing specific to their communities."

Over the past three years, the PHA has invested over £4 million in this initiative, benefiting more than 79,000 individuals through over 1,220 funded projects province-wide.

The PHA is particularly interested in supporting programmes that incorporate one or more of the 'Take 5' Steps to Wellbeing: Connect, Be active, Keep learning, Give, and Take Notice. Ms Teague encouraged applicants to collaborate on innovative projects that actively involve local communities in their design.

The short-term funding programme offers the community and voluntary sector access to small, one-off grants to support health improvement at a local level. Last year, Hillcrest Trust received £4,405 in funding, which enabled them to develop a project focused on using the Take 5 steps to wellbeing to support older people. Claire McLaughlin from Hillcrest Trust explained the impact of the funding: "This programme allowed our older residents to be active and to come together, make new friends and develop new relationships. It is not only about improving their physical health and their mental wellbeing, it's about building new relationships at a time in life when making those new connections can be difficult. The short-term funding project provided us with an opportunity to help benefit the lives of those in our community."

The PHA has commissioned the Clear Project to facilitate the application process within each Health and Social Care Trust area. Sarah-Jane Goldring, Manager of the Clear Project, highlighted the significance of this funding: "Short-term funding plays a vital role in supporting positive project delivery within the community and has an immediate impact. Programmes funded in the past have included self-help and life skills initiatives supporting marginalised individuals or groups. The funding contributes to strong mental health and emotional wellbeing outcomes as well building and developing capacity at community grassroots level."

Two types of awards are available under the programme:

• Award one: Up to £1,000 for non-constituted and constituted non-profit community/voluntary groups.

• Award two: Between £1,001 and a maximum of £5,000 for constituted, non-profit community/voluntary groups.

The closing date for applications is 3pm on Friday 16th May 2025.