STV Appeal supports Fresh Start

North Edinburgh based community project Fresh Start has received £2,000 from the STV Appeal 2014.

Based on Ferry Road Drive, Fresh Start is an Edinburgh charity that helps people who have been homeless by providing starter packs of essential household items. For many people who have been homeless and have lost everything, the packs provide a real lifeline in the early days of a new tenancy. Last year the charity created 10,973 packs to help over 2000 new households, helping to make a huge difference to the quality of people’s lives in their new home. The grant from the STV Appeal will be used to help Fresh Start increase the number of packs it produces and delivers in 2015.

Keith Robertson, managing director at Fresh Start, said: “These packs help to relieve the financial burden and initial stress that many new tenants face, especially when providing for households with children.”

Sir Tom Hunter, trustee of the STV Appeal, said: “Yet again the people of Scotland have cast their vote – end child poverty. Through the STV Appeal we are attempting to deliver sustainable solutions to do just that. It is simply unacceptable in modern Scotland to still have young people debilitated by poverty, through this project and many more the people of Scotland are doing their level best to combat poverty.”

This year’s STV Appeal is now well underway with an exciting line-up of fundraising activities planned for 2015.

More Power to the People!

Another £5.6 million for People and Communities Fund

A fund which gives community groups the power to tackle poverty and inequalities in their areas has been given a £5.6 million funding boost.

Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil confirmed community-led regeneration will be given extra support through the People and Communities Fund (PCF), on a visit to the Broomhouse Health Strategy Group this morning.

The People and Communities Fund will be increased from £9.4 million to £15 million as it benefits from support through the dedicated £10 million funding for Empowering Communities announced by the First Minister last November.

This investment builds on the Government’s commitment to giving people the power to take charge and make changes in their own communities.

The additional funding will be allocated to a variety of projects, including community groups who are promoting change in disadvantaged communities through training, employment, healthy eating and volunteering opportunities.

Mr Neil made the announcement ahead of this afternoon’s Stage 1 Debate for the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill. He said:

“We know every community in Scotland has different needs, and that we all have our own ideas about how we can make our areas better.

“This Government recognises that by giving communities the power and confidence to shape their own futures, we can tackle poverty and address inequalities more effectively.

“Through the People and Communities Fund we will provide money direct to community groups to help them tackle local issues on their own terms.

“This new money will support the aims of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill, which will give people a stronger voice in the decisions that matter to them and will help communities who wish to take over public land and buildings.”

Since PCF launched in 2012, 156 projects have received funding worth £18.3 million those projects include the Broomhouse Health Strategy Group which was awarded almost £30,000 to run cookery and exercise sessions which encourage local people to make healthy lifestyle choices.

The sessions have helped increase self-esteem and confidence among local people, many of whom had never cooked a meal from scratch before, and it has supported their skills development with some developing the confidence to move into local volunteering roles.

Lucy Aitchison, from the Broomhouse Health Strategy Group said: “It’s been great to develop our health and wellbeing services, and you can see them making a real difference to people’s lives.

“To give people the skills to be able to look after themselves and their family more healthily is really significant. We’re so pleased to have the support to be able to address these local needs.”

For more information about the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill visit:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/engage

Details on The People and Communities Fund can be viewed at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/regeneration/community/pcf

Spartans: be the twelfth man!

Local club The Spartans play Berwick Rangers this Saturday (7 February) at Ainslie Park in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup. If we win we will make history as the first non-league team to play in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup for 55 years!

This Cross-Border clash sees the Lowland League title holders take on their third SPFL opponents on the Road to Hampden. We have already beaten Clyde and Morton and in both games the bumper home support has made all the difference.

Can you be the twelfth man on 7 February? We are making a big plea for everyone in the North Edinburgh community to come along and back their local team as we aim to make history!

The TV cameras will be along, “Pulse of the Place” our local Samba band will provide the pre match entertainment and hundreds of local youngsters will be bringing a real family atmosphere. It promises to be a magical afternoon.

Our Ainslie Park arena holds 3500 people, with 500 seats in our covered stand. Kick-off is at 3pm so please come down early if you want a seat.

Admission is £12 for adults, £8 for concessions and Under 12 s are free (pay at gate) – continuing our commitment to offer affordable football for all. With a bumper crowd expected, we have entrances open on both Pilton Drive and Pilton Avenue.

You can keep up to date with the pre-match news, previews and interviews on our hat-trick of social media sources:

website: www.spartansfc.com,

twitter: @spartansfc and Facebook: Spartans FC

The Spartans Football Club

| Live together, Play together, Win together

Safer Internet seminar

Last chance to book – you do not have to be working online to make use of this session, or be an ‘expert’ in social media!

As in previous years, as part of Safer Internet Day 2015 we will be hosting a seminar especially for youth workers on Tuesday 10 February at Gilmerton Community Centre from 6– 8pm.

Booking is essential for this event as there are only limited spaces at the centre. The seminar is open to all youth workers across the City, Council or voluntary sector, paid staff or volunteers.

For the seminar, Liz Ely from Zero Tolerance will present their research on young people’s attitudes and then take us through some of the useful approaches that they have developed for youth workers in their ‘Under Pressure’ resource.

http://zerotolerance.org.uk/sites/all/files/Peer%20Research_1.pdf
http://zerotolerance.org.uk/UnderPressure

This promises to be an engaging seminar in an area of concern for many young people, parents and workers. To book your place, please email:

gavin.crosby@edinburgh.gov.uk

with your name, email address and organisation.

Places will be limited to one per centre in the first instance, any spare places will be offered up to others nearer the event.

Places may be available to non-youth work agencies (e.g. housing, social workers or teachers) but priority will be given to youth work staff.

Inverleith NP: Nature in your Neighbourhood

Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership

Monday 23 February 6.30 -8.30pm, Blackhall Library

You are warmly invited to the next meeting of the Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership. The main theme for this meeting is ‘Edinburgh Living Landscapes’ where you can have a say in identifying potential areas to be part of this project to create, restore and connect green areas of the city, making attractive and biodiverse landscapes to be enjoyed by residents and visitors.

There will also be a presentation on local roads and pavements budgets – come find out how much we have and how we decide where it gets spent!

Also, come and see a display of plans for Fet-Lor Youth Club’s new building and hear decisions by Board on our Community Grants Fund applications.

We’d love to see you and full papers will be available in advance of meeting by following this link:

http://www.edinburghnp.org.uk/neighbourhood-partnerships/inverleith/downloads/links-to-inverleith-np-papers/

The meeting will take place on

Monday 23 February at Blackhall Library, 6.30 – 8.30pm.

INP ad

Elaine Lennon, Partnership Development Officer
Tel: 0131 529 5270

Homing in on private renting

Shortage of private-rented accommodation likely to worsen, says new report

Over 40% of people who have tried to find private-rented accommodation in Scotland in the last five years have found it difficult to do so, according to a new poll.

The poll found that 23% of respondents had tried to find accommodation in the private rented sector (PRS) in the previous five years and, out of those people, 43% had found it “Quite Difficult” or “Very Difficult” to find a suitable property.

The Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) and the Council of Letting Agents (CLA), who jointly commissioned the poll, believes the figures indicate a shortage of supply in the private rented sector which is likely to become worse in the coming years.

SAL and the CLA, representing landlords and lettings agents across Scotland, would like to see the Scottish Government address this shortage by creating an environment which encourages investment in the PRS, whilst driving up standards and ensuring value for money for tenants.

John Blackwood, Chief Executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords said: “Although the PRS in Scotland sometimes has a poor reputation, this poll shows that significant number of people are trying to access the market and that many of them are not able to find suitable accommodation.

“We are acutely aware of the need to introduce measures which protect tenants from poor treatment by landlords and letting agents and will work with all parties to drive these rogue companies and individuals out of the sector. At the same time, however, it is important to take measures which encourage investment in the PRS.

“Landlords and letting agents must be given the confidence to invest in the housing sector as well as be encouraged to refurbish properties and make them available for rent. They needed to be able to evict tenants who indulge in anti-social behaviour or repossess properties that have been abandoned to so that properties can be let to responsible tenants looking for accommodation and help meet the increased demand.”

Shelter Scotland launched their ‘Make Renting Right’ campaign last October. The charity wants to see a private rented sector that’s fit for purpose, working both for people who live in rented housing and landlords who let out their properties.

Shelter is calling for:

Stability for people wanting to make rented housing their home.
Flexibility for people to stay in their home as long as they need.
A modern tenancy that gives security and flexibility for tenants AND landlords.
A fair system for sorting out renting problems when they occur.
Predictable rents for tenants and landlords.

In their latest report published last month, Shelter Scotland noted a sharp rise in the percentage of all homeless applications coming from the private rented sector.

‘Homelessness in Scotland 2014 – Getting Behind the Statistics‘ was released following analysis of the latest Scottish Government’s annual homelessness figures. The report acknowledges that, while there has been progress, the headline statistics don’t tell the full story.

Shelter’s report paints a picture of the changing shape of homelessness in Scotland:

A worrying trend showing 18% of all homeless applications now come from the private rented sector, a proportionate rise of 38% in the last five years. 18% of all homeless applications is also disproportionate to the sector’s size, which is 13% of all housing.
the number of people who gave ‘long-term roofless’ as their previous housing circumstance rose by 24%
the number of households found intentionally homeless by their local authority had risen
the proportion of homeless applications from single people over 25 years old is rising compared with other age groups
youth homelessness is at 13.7 per 1,000

Influencing your Parliament

Scottish Parliament Community Conference this month

Local people keen to have their voice heard by their MSP and the Scottish Parliament can discover how to run a social media campaign, secure media stories on the issues that affect them, petition the Parliament and even hold their own Holyrood event, by attending a conference at Dumfries’ Easterbrook Hall on Saturday 21 February.

At the Scottish Parliament Communities Conference, local MSPs Elaine Murray and Alex Fergusson will share expert advice on how to help your MSP help you, with interactive workshops run throughout the day, led by MSPs and the Scottish Parliament’s expert staff.

Engagement can result in a wide range of actions, including parliamentary debate, changes to law and policy direction.

Alex Fergusson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries said: “When an issue matters, and when it is within Holyrood’s power to help, engaging with MSPs and the Scottish Parliament can be a direct way for individuals, community groups and organisations to be heard.”

He went on: “We want to make sure that people from across Dumfries and Galloway know how to engage with us, their local MSPs, and to know that the Scottish Parliament belongs to them. The conference is all about helping make sure their voice is heard. I hope to meet many people from across the South West who feel strongly about an issue, so I can share a range of ways the Scottish Parliament can help make a positive difference to people’s lives in their local community, or even throughout Scotland.”

Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfriesshire said: ““We’re looking forward to meeting as many local community organisations, charities, social enterprises, tenants and residents groups, local campaign organisations, volunteers and youth groups as possible. But we also want to hear from individuals with an important issue to share. Only by hearing from people who have perhaps never been involved with the Parliament or politics before can we continue to raise the profile of a wide variety of important issues and give the people of Dumfries and Galloway a voice.”

In addition to Ms Murray and Mr Ferguson, other MSPs leading workshops on the day include Chic Brodie, MSP for South Scotland; John Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland; Graeme Pearson, MSP for South Scotland and Aileen McLeod, Minister for Environment, Climate Change & Land Reform.

Joyce Harkness is a campaigner and social enterprise manager from Hightae near Lochmaben. She said: “It’s great news that the Communities Conference is coming to Dumfries. I would encourage anyone who wants to kick-start getting their voice heard at the Scottish Parliament to come to Easterbrook Hall on the 21st.

“I’ve attended Scottish Parliament community workshops in the past and they’ve been invaluable. When I was campaigning for better rural transport for older people across Dumfries and Galloway, working with the Parliament really helped get our issues raised in a positive way. The MSPs and Parliamentary staff really listen and have great ideas and practical advice that’s specially tailored to your campaign. The sheer range of ways you can engage with Parliament can be a real eye-opener.”

Total Craigroyston update

We are continuing to work towards improving outcomes for children and families in the Craigroyston cluster area (writes Total Craigroyston manager Christine Mackay).

Achievements in education

North Edinburgh News has covered the great reports that Craigroyston Community High School and the Community Learning provision in the area have achieved. As well as those, Craigroyston Early Years Centre has achieved the measure of excellent across all five areas that the Care Commission look at – for the second year in a row! This is a brilliant achievement!

Working with local landlords

We have been doing some work with private landlords. We are hoping to strengthen their role in the regeneration of the area by sharing information and to encourage them listen to residents views about the condition of area. So far, the landlords we have spoken to have been very keen to become involved.

Community Leadership College

One of the most exciting things we’ve been developing over recent months is the Community Leadership College. This is an idea that has been put together by Total Craigroyston, Muirhouse Linkup and Circle Scotland. The STV foundation has funded our idea, which will us to help build on the biggest asset the community has – it’s people.

Many local people have become involved in community activities and volunteering through Linkup, The North Edinburgh Time Bank and many other community projects. The Community Leadership College will give us the opportunity take that involvement to the next level by providing training, support and other types of activities so that more leaders are created within the community.

The development of the college will be directed by local residents themselves, initially through a series of ‘Conversation Cafes’ , so that we can gather their ideas and develop the programme.

We expect that the impact will be that local people have a bigger influence on the development of services, gain skills to take up jobs, develop their ideas about making improvements to the area and the skills to turn those ideas into reality.

A cheque was presented at the Community Shop on Thursday 29 January (pictured above).

Coming up

In the next few months we will be working with North Edinburgh Young People’s Form to involve the areas young people in assessing the quality of services that they use, using the Youth Talk approach first developed in South Edinburgh. Watch this space for information about how that is going!

Third Sector: talk BOLD today

Just in case you missed this …

The City of Edinburgh Council is planning major changes to the way that it delivers services at a local level and how it collaborates with partners. TODAY (3 February), the Council is holding an engagement session to brief the third sector on the proposed changes and provide an opportunity to influence them. There are still some places available, but spaces are limited so please contact Tasha on email below as soon as possible.

A summary of the Council proposals can be found in the Better Outcomes Leaner Delivery (BOLD) Business Cases paper and the Organise to Deliver paper.

The meeting will take place at 2pm in the European Room at the City Chambers. If you would like to book one of the places, please email Tasha MacKenzie who works in the BOLD team in the Council: Tasha.MacKenzie@edinburgh.gov.uk.