Big Lottery Fund has awarded Shelter £1.4m to aid eight to 14-year-olds and their families as part of the Realising Ambition programme.

The project will fund two projects for three years to help children who are at risk of homelessness, anti-social behaviour and offending, as well as supporting their families.

Shelter plans to help more than 800 young people in Bristol and Sheffield over a period of 12 months through enhancing their engagement with education and training while preventing anti-social behaviour. As well as building targets with the youngsters, the project will also work with parents and guardians to provide housing advice.

Diane Fawcett, director of operations at the charity, said that the focus on both children and families as a whole made the project especially crucial.

Realising Ambition is a UK-wide BIG-funded programme investing £25m into projects that help young people avoid pathways into offending. It is administered by Catch22.