Charity wins Lottery help to turn lives around

Developing Initiatives for Support in the Community (Disc) has been awarded a grant of £160,000 by the Big Lottery Fund.

It will use that money to put together a business plan for schemes that could eventually receive as much as £10m.

Operating in partnership with agencies such as the police and the prison service, Disc helps people with problems like homelessness, mental illness and addiction, carrying out work across the north of England but with a strong presence in West Yorkshire.

Chief exexcutive Mark Weeding said: “This grant will enable our partnership to help many of those people whose complex and multiple problems prevent them from living the fulfilled and normal lives that they dream about.

“This isn’t a simple problem but if we can prevent people falling through the net of services we will have a major impact on both their lives and the communities in which they live.”

The charity estimates there are as many as 3,000 people across West Yorkshire with complex needs relating to housing, substance misuse, mental health and offending.

Around 45 per cent are said to have “ineffective” contact with support services.