A FUND that helps small charities and voluntary groups has awarded more than £128,000 in grants.

The Dorset Community Foundation Neighbourhood Fund has given grants of up to £5,000 to projects tackling social problems, including poverty, disadvantage and isolation.

The latest round of funding has supported 34 groups across Dorset.

One charity is Bournemouth Foodbank, which has been given £4,997 to launch a fortnightly Recovery Café at its Garden Rooms café in Boscombe.

This is for people already using the food bank and are recovering from drug and alcohol abuse.

Grants and fundraising manager at the food bank, Rio Argent, said the grant would fund a chef, barista, and food.

The café is staffed by volunteers with experience of the issues its guests will be facing.

“We will use food and drink as a gateway in engaging with this group in our community offering a new way of preventing relapse,” Rio said.

Nature Connection Dorset will run a series of 20 creative nature walks in and around Bournemouth with its £2,500 grant.

These are for people struggling with mental health conditions, carers and those who have experience domestic violence.

“Our aim is for participants to have significantly improved mental health and wellbeing, improved physical health, boosted self-confidence, a belief of being able to achieve new things and a sense of belonging,” said group chairman Amanda Jones.

Charity Escapeline works in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole to prevent young people from being recruited in county lines drugs gangs.

It holds assemblies, workshops and courses for pupils, trains teachers and helps parents to spot the gangs’ methods.

Founder Lisa said the £5,000 it has been awarded from the fund will cover the cost of assemblies and workshops.

“We run a seven-week education programme in schools, with either small groups, or if needed, one-to-one, building up trust with the young people and encouraging them to share their experiences in a safe environment,” she said.

Creative Kids, an arts education charity in Boscombe, has been awarded £4,800 to grow its Unbox Project.

This is a one-to-one drawing and talking courses to children and young people struggling with trauma or waiting for NHS mental health services.

Founder Cary Lightfoot said the courses will help tackle NHS waiting lists.

She said: “With a wait time to see a mental health professional of up to two years, we felt we must act now.”