A NEW £25,500 initiative to give vital support to ethnic minority carers in Bury is to be launched next week.

Funding from Lloyds TSB and the Church Urban Fund will enable the befriending service to continue for a period of three years.

Bishop of Bolton, Rt Rev David Gillett will join representatives from Lloyds TSB and the local ethnic community at the launch of the service at Bury's Jinnah Day Care Centre next Wednesday (April 28).

Under the scheme, ethnic minority carers will be able to access voluntary help to assist in removing the barriers of isolation.

And a team of volunteers will be recruited from the community to carry out the befriending. They will be assessed on their training needs and personal development plans will be put in place to enhance their education, qualifications and the employment prospects.

Their task will be to befriend people who may be isolated, lack social contact or who through illness are housebound. Regular weekly visits from the volunteers will give their carers a much needed break.

Lloyds TSB has provided a one-off grant of £18,000 while the Church Urban Fund is giving £7,500 each year for the next three years.

Ms Nabeela Ali has been appointed as carers/volunteers officer and will be responsible for the recruitment, support and placement of a large team of volunteers who will be drawn from across Bury's diverse communities.

She said: "I believe that carers' contribution to society should be recognised as it is of enormous value and without this contribution, community care would not function. All carers have the right to practical support, to make informed choices about whether to continue caring or not and to be enabled to continue caring if that is what they wish."

Dr Mohammed Salim, chairman of the Jinnah Day Care Centre in Alfred Street, commented: "This is an excellent project which will benefit residents of Bury. We are pleased to be working in partnership with voluntary and statutory bodies and we are grateful to Lloyds TSB and Church Urban Fund for financing this important work."