The City of London Corporation’s charitable funding arm, City Bridge Trust, kickstarted the year by making £5 million in grants to help tackle disadvantage in the capital.

SE16’s own Bede House Association is one of the beneficiaries, receiving £260,000 for a project breaking cycles of domestic violence through counselling and legal advice.

Dhruv Patel, Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s City Bridge Trust Committee, said:“London’s charities are working hard to fight inequality and disadvantage, improving lives, boosting employment, and reducing isolation.

“We want to help build a capital city where everyone can thrive.

“Nearly one third of Londoners are living in poverty, and over one million of those live in a working family.

“Together we aim to consign these statistics to the history books.”

City Bridge Trust is the funding arm of the City of London Corporation’s charity, Bridge House Estates. It is London’s biggest independent grant giver, making grants of £20 million a year to tackle disadvantage across the capital. The Trust has awarded around 8,000 grants totalling over £400 million since it first began in 1995. It helps achieve the City Corporation’s aim of changing the lives of hundreds of thousands of Londoners.