Funding Boost For Clyde Gateway

12 March 2015, 11:02 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

More than 4,000 disadvantaged people will receive help to find jobs and tackle mental health problems through a £600,000 funding boost.

The funding for Clyde Gateway aims to continue the legacy of the Glasgow 2014 Games continues by opening up sports activities to more than 3,000 children and young people across 25 schools.

It will support community outreach work in Glasgow's east end and South Lanarkshire, while around 100 unemployed people and school leavers will be provided with training and employment opportunities at social enterprises and small to medium sized businesses in the area.

The funding will be announced by Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health, on a Legacy Week visit to the Healthy n Happy Community Development Trust in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire today.

He said: "Legacy Week is an opportunity for communities to recognise the impact of the Commonwealth Games and celebrate how it's transformed the Clyde Gateway area beyond recognition.

"This £600,000 funding will ensure the legacy continues and that people continue to reap the benefits of the Games long after its closing ceremony.

"People were key to the success of the Games and this funding will deliver a range of community and employment activities in the area to help people access new economic opportunities, get active and gain confidence.

"By providing training and employment opportunities and encouraging children to take up sport from a young age Clyde Gateway is improving the lives of people and communities in the area.''

Clyde Gateway will work in partnership with community organisations, housing associations, public agencies and employability agencies to deliver the projects.

The funding will be split between three strands: developing links between schools, sports clubs and voluntary groups for children; outreach work for people with mental health problems and at risk of anti-social behaviour; and support for unemployed people to find work.

Niki Spence, senior manager for community benefits at Clyde Gateway, said: "We have never just been about physical regeneration and this very welcome funding will allow us to continue with our successful efforts to make real differences to people's lives and to ensure they benefit from and experience a legacy that is truly world-class and deserved.''