The National Lottery Community Fund has awarded DEBRA, the UK charity which helps people suffering from epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a potentially fatal skin condition that causes constant pain due to unstoppable internal and external blistering £46k as part of an ongoing package of measures to help vulnerable communities respond to the impact of COVID-19.

The additional funding will help safeguard the DEBRA community support service and the ongoing daily work of the DEBRA teams who look after individuals and families with EB, providing additional care, ensuring DEBRA can keep on delivering help to those individuals who need it most.

Commenting on the award, Claire Mather DEBRA interim CEO said:

This grant comes at a crucial time as DEBRA continues to support the EB community who are a particularly vulnerable group in our society. Our teams provide specialist healthcare services and vital support to help those living with the chronic long term health condition EB.  We are extremely grateful and I would like to thank the National Lottery Community Fund for their generous contribution.

Elly De Decker, England Director at The National Lottery Community Fund, said:

Thanks to National Lottery players, life-changing projects like DEBRA have been able to reach out and keep their communities supported and connected throughout the COVID crisis. Even as lockdown restrictions lift, they will continue to play a vital role in their community. Our priority is to ensure that we continue to get funding out to these groups so they can support their communities as they rebuild and recover from this pandemic.

In light of Covid-19, £300 million of the overall National Lottery Community Funding has been dedicated specifically to organisations working with vulnerable community groups like DEBRA during the pandemic. The Lottery Fund has seen a 55% increase in applications over the last few weeks with hundreds of requests being reviewed by the Lottery Panel every week.