Sanctuary Housing Association has launched its new community development project ‘Heart of Hackney’. Over 50 guests attended the buffet lunch on Friday 20th April at Hackney Empire Theatre to find out more about the exciting scheme.

The main themes of Heart of Hackney are to improve facilities for children and young people, to promote healthy communities and to create cleaner and sustainable neighbourhoods. The scheme aims to strengthen the local community, increase the skills and knowledge of participants and foster a sense of commitment and common purpose in the community.

Guests on the day included Jamie Carswell, Deputy Mayor of the London Borough of Hackney, Councillor Afolasade Bright, Speaker of the council, James Simpson, Hackney’s Housing Associations and Partnerships Manager and Stuart Dean, Hackney’s Antisocial Behaviour Coordinator.

The project is being run with the help of key local partners including local schools, the London Borough of Hackney, the Gascoyne and Morningside Youth Clubs, InShape, a health network for people over 50, and Hackney’s Immediate Theatre, which works at grass roots level with people of all ages.

Sanctuary will provide £250,000 for various projects to be delivered by its partners. To supplement this, the project team is seeking match funding from businesses and grant providers, as well as donations in kind. Hackney Homes are kindly allowing their community hall to be used and Barclays Bank Volunteers are giving up their time in their summer to help.