TWO West Somerset charities providing vital services to families across the district have had their budgets slashed after falling victim to Government funding cuts. The learning and play organisation CLOWNS and Home-Start, which helps families with at least one child under five, will lose a total of £80,000 in grant aid from next April. CLOWNS, set up 12 years ago to provide recreational and educational facilities for parents/ carers and children in rural isolation and areas of need within West Somerset, is facing a £35,000 shortfall in its £120,000 annual budget. And Home-Start, which has been offering support, friendship and practical help to families with a wide range of short or long term difficulties for the past four years, is set to lose a massive £45,000 from the £77,000 it currently needs to run its service. Both charities have been hit by changes in the funding of West Somerset's four SureStart centres. But both have pledged that despite the difficulties, the funding gaps will be plugged and the services provided will be maintained. And they are appealing for help from the wider West Somerset community - for sponsorship from businesses, individuals and voluntary groups - to replace the lost grant aid. Kathy Morton from CLOWNS, which will see its SureStart funding cut from £60,000 to £25,000, told the Free Press: "We are determined to find this money and to keep all our services going. "Statistically, we can prove that we are needed in the rural areas." CLOWNS, which employs 13 staff, runs playbus sessions and provides other outreach facilities, including family support work, to isolated families who often find it difficult or impossible to access the children's centres in Williton, Watchet, Alcombe or Dulverton. The SureStart funding, which has been in place for the last three years, has also helped fund toy library visits and 'tumbling tot' sessions. Since its inception CLOWNS has faced often annual battles to secure sufficient funding but the SureStart aid had provided a degree of certainty for the much needed organisation. Currently, it receives financial help from a number of foundations, charitable trusts and West Somerset Council, in addition to Somerset County Council which disseminates the SureStart grant through its Early Years unit. Home-Start, part of a national initiative, has four part-time paid staff but has more than 40 trained volunteers as well as 13 trustees. It received £65,000 this year in SureStart funding but has been told it can expect just £20,000 in the new financial year. "Tackling issues within families is supposed to be a Government priority and yet both CLOWNS and Home-Start, which carry out such important preventative work, are facing these funding problems." said spokeswoman Ali Sanderson. "Like CLOWNS we are absolutely determined to continue in our present form but it is going to involve a lot of hard work to find alternative sources of funding." Home-Start provides support to a wide range of families, which can range from helping mothers cope in the short-term following a Caesarian section delivery to trying to resolve relationship difficulties, counter isolation or loneliness or manage disabilities. In 2004-05 the charity helped 73 families and 138 children in West Somerset. "The work we do is largely preventative and without it, in the long run the costs will be much greater," said Mrs Sanderson. "Both Home-Start and CLOWNS have highly skilled people working for them who are providing a huge amount of expertise." The funding crisis has been blamed on a change in the way Government funding is allocated. John Kirby, the county council's head of service for partnerships, told the Free Press yesterday (Thursday) that as part of the national ten-year strategy for children, the delivery of SureStart local programmes were being transferred to children's centres. "There is a reduction in the level of external funding for the service from central Government but the county council is working with CLOWNS and Home-Start to find a way to meet needs within reduced resources," said Mr Kirby. Both CLOWNS and Home-Start have praised the support currently being shown by the county and district councils and insist they have no criticism of West Somerset's children's centres, which simply do not have the previous level of funding to pass on to the charities. District council leader Cllr Christine Lawrence, who is also a county councillor, attended a crisis meeting on Wednesday which resulted in the grant allocated to CLOWNS being increased from £18,000 to £25,000. "We managed to squeeze a bit more money for them but we desperately need to secure permanent longterm funding provision for both CLOWNS and Home-Start," said Cllr Lawrence. "If we value the services they provide - and we do - we have to sustain them. "Both these organisations are doing a superb job. We have four wonderful children's centres in West Somerset that are being well used and appreciated. "But not every family can access them and we have to look at the problems facing families in the more rural areas. "The bottom line is that every child counts, whether they live in an urban or rural area." West Somerset's MP Ian Liddell-Grainger has also thrown his weight behind the funding battle and described the loss of funding as unacceptable. "Any loss of money would be galling but this amount is going to have a devastating effect," he said. "We are talking about services for children, especially children in isolated areas, and that is not something that should be mucked around - it is not a social experiment to be tinkered with. "I will take the matter up and do everything in my power to help." Anyone willing to offer financial support can contact CLOWNS on 01643 707190 and Home-Start on 01643 707304.
