VIVID Plus, the charitable arm of VIVID, is working with Eastleigh Borough Council on the Changing Direction for Success (CDS) project, which aims to help people feel safer in their neighbourhood and provide positive alternatives for local young people. The housing association is investing £72,000 into the project over the next 2 years. 

The CDS project will target NEET (not in employment, education or training) young people in the Eastleigh area, encouraging them to get involved in learning new skills. The CDS project hopes to improve the motivation and focus of local young people and help in their social and emotional development. It aims to provide an alternative to anti-social behaviour and lessen the temptation to get involved in criminal activity, through enhancing career prospects and making them more financially independent and less likely to rely on benefits.

VIVID Plus launched earlier in the year with an ambition to help its communities thrive. VIVID Plus invests in tenancy sustainment services, to provide people with tailored, individual support and tackles community led priorities, to help people feel proud of where they live. It plans to invest £21 million over the next 5 years.

Jonathan Cowie, VIVID Plus Board Member and Chief Operating Officer at VIVID said: “We’re thrilled to be working with Eastleigh Borough Council on a project that we know will have such a positive impact both on local young people and on wider residents in the Eastleigh area. Through our partnership, we hope to help launch a number of activities and initiatives as part of the project, which will provide greater opportunities and give more individuals the tools they need to help them develop their skills and succeed.”

The project is working to increase positive engagement amongst local young people within the project activities and focuses on the development and delivery of tailor-made individual pathway programmes. Here, opportunities such as work placements, certified courses and employability and interpersonal skill development will be provided. As part of these pathways, general wellbeing will be a core focus, specifically relating to building confidence and developing decision making skills.

Eastleigh Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Social Policy, and Chair of the Eastleigh Community Safety Partnership, Councillor Tonia Craig, commented: “The Changing Direction for Success project provides an excellent opportunity for the Borough’s young people to develop their skillsets and boost their career opportunities. It also enhances community safety by providing local young people with positive alternatives.”

The projects supported by VIVID Plus are highly targeted to its main areas of focus, working closely with experts and partner agencies, rather than there being an open application process to apply for funding. These areas include: improving personal safety through crime prevention and youth support; health interventions to improve life chances; growing economic opportunities through employment and job creation; alongside tacking homelessness and investing in neighbourhood improvements. 

For further information on VIVID Plus, please visit https://www.vividhomes.co.uk/vivid-plus