Funding from Howick Local Board is helping a community group to increase the safety of the area.
The Asian Council on Reducing Crime (ACRC) is using the funding to develop a home safety checklist and run workshops on family violence and safety awareness.
The workshops will include presentations from Victim Support and the police.
The group also plans to work with local Chinese people from churches and language schools, including parents, migrant groups, and the Lin An Dui foot patrol teams.
ACRC spokesperson Rosa Chow says the grant is essential to the group’s work.
“We are a small charitable group without funding, so we couldn’t provide a wider service without the support of the local board,” she says.
She says the checklist is a simple yet practical way to reduce the risk of crime.
“We know people have alarms but don’t always turn them on when they go out, so, using examples from our checklist and follow-ups from our group, we can encourage people to become more aware and take ownership.”
Bob Wichman, Howick Local Board’s community safety programme lead, says the funding for community safety initiatives fits well with the priority outlined in its local board plan, to ensure that people feel safe in and connected to their community.
“We know community safety is one of the biggest concerns for people, so as a board we want to support community initiatives that help keep people safe,” he says.
