Walkers went wild as they celebrated reaching an incredible £20 million fundraising milestone at The MoonWalk Scotland last night. Before the first step was even taken, organisers breast cancer charity Walk the Walk announced that an amazing £430,000 had been raised by people taking part in this year’s event – bringing the fundraising total over the last 12 years of The MoonWalk Scotland to a phenomenal £20 million! Continue reading Bra- vo as Scotland’s MoonWalkers raise £20 million
With three quarters of a million Scots in a caring role, National Carers Week 2017 is all about helping each other. The national awareness week, which starts tomorrow (June 12th), is themed ‘Building Carer Friendly Communities‘. Continue reading Support available every day for Scotland’s carers
Further reduction in waiting times
The number of children and young people seen by mental health services (CAMHS) within the target time has increased for the third consecutive quarter.
Figures published by ISD Scotland this week show that 83.6% of people were seen within 18 weeks during the quarter ending 31 March 2017, up from 82.5% in the previous quarter.
CAMHS workforce has increased by 65% under this Government, with the the number of CAMHS psychologists having more than doubled.
Maureen Watt, Minister for Mental Health, said: “This continued reduction in CAMHS waiting times is encouraging, with 10 Boards achieving the target this quarter – up from seven at the end of 2016. However I’m clear that we must continue to reduce waiting times and I will not be satisfied until our target is met sustainably.
“We will continue to work with Boards to make sure that happens right across Scotland and the Mental Health Access Improvement Support Team, which has delivered significant improvements in NHS Forth valley, are working in partnership with Boards to deliver sustained improvements.
“Our recently published ten-year strategy for mental health sets out a range of measures that focus on prevention and early intervention to meet the mental health needs of children and young people, backed by £150 million of funding.
“We will also soon commission reviews into school counselling and rejected child and adolescent mental health service referrals, as a foundation for making further improvements.”
Continue reading Minister welcomes mental health target improvements
Friday 4th & Saturday 5th AUGUST Continue reading Forth on the Fringe is back
Partnership provides new opportunities for students, faculty and the wider campus community to maximise the value of their unwanted books
Better World Books, the award-winning, socially minded global bookseller, is delighted to announce a new partnership with the EAUC, the environmental and sustainability champion within Further and Higher Education in the UK, to drive sustainability and book reuse at university and college campuses across the UK.
The EAUC and Better World Books will work together to locate book banks which will provide students, staff and the wider community with a convenient and easy way to donate books that they no longer want. Books that are collected will be processed at the Better World Books distribution centre in Dunfermline and listed for sale on www.betterworldbooks.co.uk and other online marketplaces. A percentage of every book sold will support the EAUC’s mission. Any books that cannot be sold will be donated or recycled–no books ever become landfill. The book banks are supplied free of charge by Better World Books.
Better World Books successfully operates its book bank programme at various locations across the UK, including Fife. In Fife alone, almost one million books have been collected since 2013.
The EAUC leads and empowers the post-16 education sector to put sustainability at the heart of the way the world operates. The EAUC believes that both the issues of social, environmental and economic sustainability are interlinked as well as the solutions.
Iain Patton, EAUC CEO, said, “EAUC’s new partnership with Better World Books aims to help our members bridge the ‘learning gap’ and stop books being lost to landfill.”
Better World Books, as a founding member of the B Corp movement and the winner of the VIBES Circular Economy Award in 2015, shares similar goals of reuse and sustainability.
Martin Mullin, Head of Sales UK for Better World Books added, “This exciting partnership between the EAUC and Better World Books is a brilliant concept with sustainability at the very centre. Together we will work to place book banks across Universities and Colleges and collect books that would otherwise be going to landfills. The book banks are a very convenient way for everyone involved in campus life to participate. We’re really pleased to be working with an organisation that shares our environmental goals and values.”
Prime Minister Theresa May’s statement following the General Election:
“I have just been to see Her Majesty the Queen, and I will now form a government – a government that can provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time for our country. Continue reading May: Let’s get to work
By working with local authorities across Scotland, Fostering Relations aim to provide the best care plans for children and young people and to ensure safe and supported placements until plans have been achieved.
Lyndsay Johnston, Carer Recruitment Officer, said: “We believe that every child has the right to feel safe, healthy and happy and so are committed to provide this for children and young people who have experienced abuse, disruption and trauma in their lives”.
Since opening their doors in 2007, Fostering Relations have supported over 270 children and young people by giving them quality, supported and stable family placements. There are currently 45 carer households and 49 children within Fostering Relations’ care.
Having recently been inspected by The Care Inspectorate, Fostering Relations received Very Good for both their Care & Support and Management and Leadership. Testament to this is, fifty percent of care leavers so far in 2017 have gone onto undertake degree courses.
Bryan Ritchie, Registered Manager, said: “Our carers often say that they humbled by the strength and courage of the children and young people within our care. Many of the carers tell us that what attracted them to fostering Relations was the close relations and ‘family feel’ makes them feel like they’re part of something special.
“We’ve had an amazing first ten years and are excited to see what the future holds for us. We aim to continue our journey looking after Scotland’s most vulnerable children. ”
For more information on Fostering Relations and what opportunities are available to you, visit www.fosteringrelations.org.uk or call a member of our team on 01383 661630.
North Edinburgh was well represented at Edinburgh’s Inspiring Volunteer Awards this week. The gala event at the City Chambers was an opportunity to celebrate the incredible work of the city’s unsung heroes who do so much to improve the quality of life for so many in the capital. Continue reading Local stars shine at Volunteer Awards ceremony
10% fall in racial hate crime charges brought by police
People affected by hate crime have been encouraged to come forward to police to ensure perpetrators can be properly dealt with.
Minister for Community Safety Annabel Ewing made the appeal following the publication of a series of reports covering hate crime, religiously aggravated offences and the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 which show:
Minister for Community Safety Annabelle Ewing said: “Any crime motivated by prejudice is absolutely unacceptable. While the statistics show a decrease in reported racial crimes, there have been increases in those related to sexual orientation, religion and transgender identity and we cannot be complacent about these crimes are dealt with.
“I remain concerned that hate crimes are under-reported and want to encourage anyone who has been subjected to such appalling acts to come forward to ensure that perpetrators can be dealt with appropriately. We will keep engaging with community leaders on how best to raise awareness of how such crimes can be reported and in the meantime. We will continue to work with Police Scotland and others to ensure a robust response to perpetrators.
“Scotland does not exist in isolation from the rest of the world and we know that global events have an impact on the levels of hate crime that different communities are subjected to. We must ensure that we have appropriate legislation in place to deal with those who continue to perpetrate prejudice, bigotry and hatred, which is why I commissioned the Independent Review of Hate Crime Legislation in Scotland and expect that its findings will help us to ensure that our hate crime legislation is fit for the 21st century.
“The number of charges under the Offensive Behaviour Act demonstrate that we still have a problem with offensive and abusive behaviour related to football matches and that we need legislation to give our police the powers required to ensure that football is not immune from the standards expected in the rest of society.”
Chief Superintendent Barry McEwan, Head of Safer Communities, Police Scotland, added: “I would always encourage anyone who has been the victim of hate crime in any form, whether because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ethnicity or any other individual circumstance, to come forward and report it to the police. It is only through reporting offences that we can form a more complete picture of the issue and address is in the most robust manner possible.
“Police Scotland will not tolerate any attempts to target any community by any misguided individual or group and will work with all of our partners to resolve any issues and address any concerns. Should anyone become a victim of, or witness to, any hate crime, they should contact the police and report the incident, by calling 101 or 999 if it is an emergency.”
Meet under flag at Granton Harbour breakwater 10.30am
