Leicester’s Soundcafe has been awarded a grant of £20,000 to help support the running costs of the charity’s safe creative spaces for people who are homeless, vulnerable and socially isolated in Leicester. The grant has been allocated by the Henry Smith Charity, a Trust which aims to bring about lasting change to people’s lives helping them benefit from and contribute to society.
SoundCafe’s Chair, Roz Burch said “this is great news for our charity. Our guests are struggling with the physical and mental difficulties caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. It has never been more important for us to continue the fight against social isolation, help people who are dealing with mental health issues and provide opportunities for confidence building. This grant helps towards securing our future for two more years and we hope to use this as a platform from which our services can reach more people in a wider range of ways.”
This is the latest in a series of grants that the SoundCafe has been awarded to support their work. Their popular SoundCafe to Take Away project began in August. The adaptation of their usual creative cafe service meets the needs of their guests in a Covid-secure environment. That project is funded by contributions from the Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation and the National Lottery’s Covid Response Community Fund.
The SoundCafe is now bringing back elements of their programme that were forced to stop because of lockdown. Their football sessions with Leicester City in the Community began two weeks ago and choir practice will return soon. They also hope to put on major events and festivals in a safe way in the future.
