Windrush fund awards £38,000 to West Midlands projects
Over £38,000 has been awarded to organisations in the West Midlands to raise awareness of schemes for the Windrush generation.
The £500,000 Windrush Community Fund allows grassroots organisations to bid for up to £25,000 to deliver projects raising awareness of the Windrush Scheme - involving documentation - and the Windrush Compensation Scheme.
Home Secretary Priti Patel announced on that the University of Wolverhampton and Windrush Legal Advice Clinic will receive over £24,000 to raise awareness of the Windrush Schemes, while Wellington Road Seniors Community Project in Bilston will receive £14,000.
Maureen Mitchell, co-founder of the Windrush Legal Advice Clinic, said: “We are delighted to have secured funding in partnership with University of Wolverhampton from the Windrush Community Fund.
“We are keen to play our part and feel honoured to be able to raise much needed awareness so that we can help our community across the Black Country secure the compensation they need.”
The University of Wolverhampton and the Windrush Legal Advice Clinic will raise awareness by staging local awareness events run in conjunction with the University’s Art and Law faculties.
Wellington Road Seniors Community Project, which was formed by The New Testament Church, will conduct a series of workshops to promote the Schemes.
It will educate members of the Windrush generation and their family about the Compensation Scheme and the process of application.
Albert Watson from the New Testament Church said: “We are delighted to have secured funding from the Windrush Community Fund.
“We are keen to play our part to help those in our community here in Bilston and the Black Country to get the help they need.
“It’s so important that everyone eligible for compensation is able to get it, as it could make a big difference to their lives.”
New statistics show over £35 million has been paid to 940 members of the Windrush Generation through the Compensation Scheme.
Minister for Safe and Legal Migration, Kevin Foster said: “This is another significant landmark and shows we are delivering on our commitment to those who are owed compensation. Since the scheme was overhauled, we have been able to get more money out more quickly.
“However, I know there is more to do and I will not rest until everyone who was wronged by successive governments has received what is now due to them.
“That is why the community fund is so important, to increase the number of people we can reach and encourage to apply for compensation.”
