THOUSANDS of pounds have been handed to charities and organisations helping to tackle crime and supporting victims in Hampshire.

Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Hayes has announced £164,899 worth of grants to 22 groups in the county and the Isle of Wight which are delivering a range of innovative projects.

The £126,795 of “Innovation Grant” funding will be shared between eight organisations for projects delivering new schemes, including support for victims of child sex abuse and youth intervention scheme to reduce anti-social behaviour and drug and alcohol misuse.

A further 14 organisations will be collectively awarded £38,104 in “small grants” funding to support projects working to reduce crime and support victims.

Simon Hayes said: “Thanks to these grants, 22 local organisations will now benefit from this additional financial support which has been carefully allocated to create long-term solutions to challenging issues.

“This funding will help to make real, for thousands of people in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, the priorities set out in the Police and Crime Plan, supporting victims, reducing reoffending and reducing anti-social behaviour.”

Those organisations receiving the cash boost include Eastleigh Youth and Community Trust for its Parkside Youth Project and the Crimestoppers Trust.

Southampton Rape Crisis has received £3,000 for its  STAR project, which aims to recruit young people to carry out a mini research project looking into the negative effects of early substance misuse and smoking cannabis.

Frankie Eyre, from the project, said: “We welcome the funding for this pilot “gateway” project.

“The long-term impact of substance use can affect an individual’s ability to maintain healthy relationships, as early substance misuse can be damaging to an adult's emotional and psychological wellbeing.

“By approaching this topic with this age group we aim to reduce the number of sexual abuse cases that occur by raising awareness of contributory factors that impact on safer relationships.”