270303 Community Fund Research grants will help stroke patients, older people and disabled children

In all £2,677,621 has been awarded to 12 voluntary organisations working in partnership with university research departments.

The organisations to benefit from this innovative programme today are: Action on Addiction (£254,730), Age Concern Wigan Borough (£186,735), British Retinitis Pigmentosa Society (£153,759), Help and Care (£173,932), The Maternity Alliance Educational and Research Trust (£205,110), The Naz Project (£184,358), Restricted Growth Association (£145,257), RNIB (£221,792), Shared Care Network (£109,084), The Family Planning Association (£190,022), The Stroke Association (£428,152), Vision 2020 UK (£424,690).

The largest award of £428,152 goes to the The Stroke Association, to help set up and evaluate a support scheme for stroke patients and their carers. The scheme will be community based in the Bath area and aims to improve the quality of life of stroke patients, helping them to overcome both the physical and the psychological difficulties they may face as a result of a stroke.

Shared Care Network receives £109,084 to develop short break (respite) services for disabled children and their families. The research will conduct a survey of existing services within the UK to get a clear picture of what services disabled children and their families are receiving and which families are not receiving help.

The survey will identify innovative ways of placing disabled children and find out what works in terms of recruiting carers. It will provide a focus for future research, training and development and will enable Shared Care Network to give out appropriate advice and information to professionals, parents of disabled children and policy makers.

Age Concern in Wigan gets an award of £186,735 to look at ways of helping older people overcome isolation and loneliness. The research will involve learning from older people who have found ways of coping with loneliness and isolation, in order to identify practical ways of dealing with it.

Lady Brittan, Chair of the Community Fund said: "We are delighted to be giving money to these worthwhile voluntary organisations, such as The Stroke Association, Age Concern and Shared Care Network, to work with the first class research teams they have identified. It is right that Lottery money is providing social and medical support to people who are experiencing debilitating illnesses and helping to support families look after their loved ones.

"Having a stroke at any age is stressful for the patient and their family alike. The more we know about what stroke patients need to aid their recovery, the sooner we can help improve their quality of life.

"Equally, helping older people overcome fears about loneliness and giving disabled children and their families the chance for a break are all about improving their quality of life. Our awards today emphasise our commitment to researching new solutions to help those most in need."

Heather Webber of the The Stroke Association said, "Every year over 130,000 people in the UK suffer a first stroke. Stroke is one of the largest causes of severe adult disability, and over 350,000 people are living with the effects at any one time. This grant will help to provide group based physical activities and interactive education sessions for stroke patients and their carers. The ultimate aim is to increase the confidence of stroke patients and enhance their quality of life".

Sue Mennear of Shared Care Network said, "This survey will be the cornerstone of our future work. It will enable us to map what services families of disabled children are currently receiving and identify gaps. In particular it will help us look at which disabled children wait longest for services and why. The findings are likely to have a huge impact on policy locally and nationally and help schemes develop quality services which provide families with the kinds of support they need."

Stuart Murray from Age Concern said, "Isolation and loneliness blight the lives of thousands of older people. From our work with older people we know that this is a major concern and a real fear, but we also know that most people do have ways of tackling this themselves - through friendships, doing voluntary work and simply ensuring that they are able to say 'Hello' to another person every day. This important grant will enable us to work with older people, as researchers and as sources of expertise and experience, to identify and promote those activities that, in practical ways, alleviate isolation and loneliness".

Notes for editors:

1. A full list of today's grants is available from Community Fund's website at www.community-fund.org.uk or by calling one of the above numbers.

2. The Community Fund gives out money raised by the National Lottery to charities and to voluntary and community groups. Out of every £1 spent on the National Lottery the Community Fund gets 4.7 pence.

3. The legal name of the Community Fund remains the National Lottery Charities Board. The National Lottery Charities Board was set up in 1994 and changed its operating name to Community Fund - Lottery money making a difference in April 2001.

4. The Community Fund's Research Grants Programme funds research activities in the areas of health and social well-being. The programme is continuous, focuses on social inclusion and has an annual budget of around £8m.

5. More information regarding The Stroke Association is available at www.stroke.org.uk

6. More information on Shared Care Network is available at www.sharedcarenetwork.org.uk

7. More information on Age Concern is available at www.ace.org.uk