BIG LOTTERY FUND UNVEILS PLANS FOR PROGRAMME SUPPORTING NORTHERN IRELAND FAMILIES

The Big Lottery Fund wants people across Northern Ireland to tell them what they think of proposals for a new programme to support local families.

The biggest National Lottery good cause distributor is proposing to develop Supporting Families – a programme to improve the lives of families, with children under 12, in Northern Ireland who are facing a range of challenges such as poverty, physical and mental abuse, alcohol and substance misuse, homelessness, isolation and physical and mental ill health.

The Big Lottery Fund has launched an online survey, available at http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/northernireland/about-ni/big_proposals_ni.htm, where people can have their say on the proposals for the new programme.

The survey will give people the opportunity to have their say on questions such as:

•What are the issues affecting families in Northern Ireland?

•How can the Big Lottery Fund ensure the projects we fund involve families?

•How can the Big Lottery Fund add value to existing work supporting families?

Previous feedback has helped develop the proposals for the Supporting Families programme which is likely to be open in late 2012 and be valued at £15 million.

Frank Hewitt, Big Lottery Fund’s NI Chair, said: “We want to know what people think of our Supporting Families programme proposals and how we can best meet the needs of communities in Northern Ireland through this programme.

“I would urge people to have their say on the proposals over the coming months by taking part in our online survey and helping us develop and deliver a programme that will make a real and lasting difference to the lives of families in Northern Ireland.”

You can have your say on the proposals for the Supporting Families programme, which is open until 4th May 2012, by taking part in an online survey available at: http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/northernireland/about-ni/big_proposals_ni.htm