AN ANDOVER mental health charity providing support, advice and information has been awarded £10,000 to help young people in the town. 

Andover Mind’s ‘Be You’ Peer Champions is one of 10 community projects celebrating thanks to support from housing association Sovereign and The National Lottery Community Fund’s (TNLCF) #iwill Fund.

Andover Mind received a grant of nearly £10,000 from the Sovereign #iwill Fund, which will help to change lives around Andover. The ‘Be You’ Peer Champions project will see schools and community groups benefit from additional mental health support. 

Sovereign’s Youth Panel, which is made up of 18-25-year-old customers, helped to decide the winning projects. The fund supports more young people to access meaningful social action opportunities and grow their skills and confidence.

Panel member Emily Morris said: “The Sovereign #iwill Fund scoring day was a brilliant opportunity to get involved and support on awarding youth social projects funding.

"I felt empowered by having my own voice and opinion heard, which will go on to encourage youth to have their own say about other potential social youth action in Sovereign communities via #iwill funded projects.”

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Since last summer, more than £195,000 has been awarded through the fund to projects across the south of England. More than £86,000 has been awarded as part of a second round of funding.

The fund is made possible thanks to a £66m joint investment from The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to support young people to access high-quality social action opportunities. Sovereign is acting as an #iwill Fund match funder and awarding grants on behalf of the fund.

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Sovereign’s #iwill Fund project manager, Daisy Mummery, said: “The impact the #iwill Fund is having on young people and communities is incredible, having already generated over £2.1 million in social value so far. I’m looking forward to seeing how our second round of projects contributes to growing this impact further.”