Story: Lisa Harrison
On 18th February 2011, the Pakistan Advice and Community Association (PACA) won the prestigious ‘Diversity of the Year’ award from South Yorkshire Police.
The award is an acknowledgement of the extensive work carried out with people from all backgrounds to improve social inclusion and community cohesion in the North East Sheffield area by PACA projects.
Through identifying local needs, these projects have improved employment opportunities, knowledge of the English language and culture and given people a say in how local services are run. Citizenship sessions have improved understanding among new migrants of their rights and responsibilities in the UK. These services have been very successful, and PACA sees users from a very broad range of backgrounds, with the range of different groups served growing exponentially year on year.
In the present economic climate PACA is endeavouring to improve the situation faced by individuals in the community, by providing support tailored to their needs.