Individuals and communities vulnerable to paramilitary control and violence are set to receive continued funding support as part of a package of initiatives announced yesterday by Justice Minister Naomi Long.
 
The package will see £13 million awarded in this financial year for a series of projects including an initiative which aims to implement multiagency arrangements in West and North Belfast to address issues relating to victims of paramilitary groups.
 
Funding has also been awarded for a project focusing on educational under-attainment alongside a mentoring programme for men leaving prison and for those in the first 16 weeks of community sentence.
 
There will also be a range of community-based interventions, including restorative justice approaches for men who are not in the criminal justice system.
 
When it comes to providing support to the victims of paramilitarism, The Justice Minister intends  to commission a pilot of dedicated support for "victims of paramilitary violence, control, and coercion".
 
This work will aim to align the work of various agencies, including community partners, to help those under threat.
 
It was also announced that longer term ring-fenced funding, of £10m for three years, will be provided to community-based activity supported by the Communities in Transition project.

 Announcing her plans, Minister Naomi Long said "paramilitaries hold communities back, exploit them, deny them opportunities they deserve and hurt them, in many cases maiming people and carrying out horrific human rights abuses with lasting impacts on individuals, their families and our society".
 
“This renewed funding will focus on helping those facing paramilitary harm in the here and now as well ensuring that young people are not drawn into a new generational cycle of paramilitarism, violence and crime," she added.
 
“People have had to live with paramilitary control, violence, threats and exploitation for far too long. Life is hard enough without this. Through the Programme we will cut off paramilitary supply chains, whether that’s paramilitary drugs that ruin people’s lives, money-lending that leads to misery or the violence that leaves vulnerable kids shot and maimed in the street. And we want to ensure that communities have faith in the law enforcement response all the way from neighbourhood policing right through to the dedicated focus and cross-agency work of the Paramilitary Crime Task Force."