More Positive Together and Active Lancashire celebrate two years of its project to help people into employment

A community programme to help Lancashire residents who are furthest from the employment market lead active lives and improve their prospects is celebrating its second anniversary.

Members of More Positive Together (MPT), gathered at Brockholes Nature Reserve to honour its successes, with talks from people who have turned their lives around.

Funded by the European Social Fund and led by Active Lancashire, the partnership project aims to reach out to 2,250 Lancashire residents, focusing on those located in the most deprived neighbourhoods, many of whom have barriers to employment and progression such as substance misuse, mental and physical health problems, a history of offending, poverty and debt.

So far, 275 candidates have become employed or self-employed, with a further 186 engaged in studying or training to achieve a qualification.

One of the project partners, Paul Kelly, of Community Gateway Association, said: “This project has enabled us to put the person at the heart of our approach, and most importantly, to reconnect them to their community.”

The three-year project runs until the end of December 2019, but the partnership is now seeking to secure further funding to continue into the future.

Organisations wanting to know more about how they could get involved should call 01772 299830 or email [email protected].