Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC), the charity behind The Haven, a wellbeing and resilience pilot, developed to tackle Scotland’s mental health crisis says it is overwhelmed by its success in its first year.
The service opened at The Fraser Centre in Tranent in September 2023 and is the first centre to open under the Charity’s ‘No Time To Wait’ strategy. Over its first twelve months, the service operated for three afternoons a week, and attracted 2,412 visits. Of these visits, 1,360 were children and young people and 1,052 were their affected family members.
Roslyn Neely, CEO of ECHC said: “We are incredibly proud of the success of The Haven over its first year. Poor mental health is one of the biggest challenges of this generation and to have been able to support so many young people, and their families, struggling with their mental health is really inspiring.
“The Haven model has been created by experts and delivered by hugely passionate and committed members of our team, but it is not a complex or complicated process. This is a model that can be taken and delivered all over the country, it simply needs the will and the funding.
“If we, as a charity, can evidence this much success in one pilot service in just twelve months, imagine how many people dealing with poor mental health could be helped if this model was scaled up and rolled out throughout Scotland.”
The Haven aims to support families with children struggling with their mental health and prevent problems escalating to the point where professional intervention is needed. Of those who have attended in the last year, the most common issues are around anxiety and depression, followed by challenges in the school environment and school attendance, neurodiversity and self harming, and less commonly, suicidal ideation and eating disorders.
A parent who has used The Havensaid: “When we all felt at our lowest point we contacted The Haven. Everyone there genuinely cares.
“Our son found it a safe space to open up and talk. The support The Haven provides us as parents is invaluable. We know the team is on our side and has helped us to realise what we are doing is right. I always look forward to our chats.”
The Haven is open to any child or young person with a mental health concern, and any member of their family, including parents, carers, siblings and grandparents. Due to its success, The Haven will next month move to new premises and will open five days a week.
With bigger facilities, longer opening hours and a larger catchment area, The Haven will be able to support even more people across the Knox Academy postcode area as well as the Ross High School area, from its new premises in Haddington.
Fiona O’Sullivan is Director of Children’s Wellbeing at ECHC, she said: “The Haven is unique as it supports the whole family and recognises that when a child or young person is suffering as a result of poor mental health this can have a massive detrimental impact on the rest of the family.
“Our service exists to support the child, the parent, the grandparent, the auntie, the carer, whomever is closest to the child in need.
“We are thrilled that The Haven is able to expand its service for the remainder of the pilot. Part of the purpose of the pilot was to ascertain the scale of demand, and our data from the first twelve months has simply confirmed to us what we already knew, that children and young people are crying out for help.”
The Haven will close its doors permanently in July 2025, at which point ECHC is willing to hand over the model and findings from the pilot to any organisation willing to take The Haven model and roll it out more permanently.
Roslyn Neelyadded: “Our entire team is completely invested in The Haven and the thought of it closing at this point is almost unbearable, but it was always the intention this would be a two-year pilot, and as a charity we sadly can’t fund and resource this forever.
“It is our vision that every community in every local authority area across Scotland will have a Haven for those who need it. The model has shown without any doubt that it works, and at the end of the pilot we hope to demonstrate that, at the very least, it has provided valuable support and intervention which has helped a child and their family to cope better with their situation; and at best, may have negated the need for CAMHS support later down the line.”
Edinburgh Napier University celebrated student films from around the world at the inaugural Napier Student Film Festival, held from 13 – 15th November 2024.
The event brought together student filmmakers, industry professionals, and film enthusiasts in a dynamic celebration of creativity and storytelling through the art of filmmaking.
Award Winners:
Best Film: “Yeehaw” by John Kelbie (Edinburgh Napier University)
Best Documentary: “New Town” by Campbell Anderson (Northern Film School)
Best Animation: “Someone Else’s Story” by Michal Lustig (Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem)
Best International Film: “Son of Happiness” by Dominik Mirecki (Warsaw Film School)
Best Napier Film: “Yeehaw” by John Kelbie (Edinburgh Napier University)
Evans Eghan, President of Edinburgh Napier Students’ Association (ENSA), said: “The Napier Student Film Festival is more than just a platform for showcasing student films; it’s a hub for creativity, collaboration, and growth.
“By bringing together filmmakers, academics, and industry professionals, we aim to foster a community where emerging talents can thrive and build connections that will shape their future careers.”
The festival, organised by ENSA, featured an array of engaging activities, including:
A masterclass on “Film as Therapy” facilitated by Dr Amy Beddows, exploring the transformative power of storytelling in fostering mental health and well-being.
An industry panel discussion on “How to Get a Job in Film”, offering valuable insights into career pathways within the creative sector and connecting students with industry leaders.
Film screenings. A total of 25 films were shortlisted out of over 200 entries from talented student filmmakers from different universities across the UK and globally. The line-up of film screenings also included 4 films from students at Napier’s international partner universities.
Networking opportunities, fostering connections between emerging filmmakers, departments within the university, and industry professionals.
The festival culminated in an exciting awards ceremony, celebrating outstanding achievements in student filmmaking.
The events not only highlighted the immense talent of student filmmakers but also encouraged collaboration across departments and with external partners. Attendees and participants offered resounding praise, commending the festival’s impact on fostering talent, creating networking opportunities, and elevating the role of film in education and community building.
Looking ahead, the festival aims to become a cornerstone event within the university and the wider Edinburgh community. Plans for future editions include expanding the festival’s reach, enhancing collaborations with local creative industries, and positioning Edinburgh Napier as a leading institution for nurturing creative talent.
Officers will be deployed over the weekend to support #WinterCity.
Whilst we want to welcome everyone and ensure a good time is had by all, your safety is our primary concern.
Please be aware of the YELLOW WEATHER WARNING issued by the Met Office which will see heavy rain and snow fall across most parts of Scotland throughout Saturday 23rd November.
Please only travel if it is safe to do so and consider postponing your visit to another date. There’s still plenty of time as #WinterCity will run until Saturday 4th January 2025.
Ministers hear from families, public bodies and charities to tackle issues including wages, work and welfare and help those most in need
The UK Government’s Child Poverty Taskforce was in Scotland for the first time on Thursday, hearing from child poverty charities, experts, parents and children in Glasgow as it develops plans for an ambitious, cross-Government strategy to drive down child poverty.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, who co-chairs the Taskforce, said that tackling child poverty is back where it should be – at the top of the UK Government’s agenda – and that driving down child poverty across Scotland was a key priority.
The visit comes following last month’s Budget announcement of a new ‘Fair Repayment Rate’ in Universal Credit, making 110,000 of Scotland’s poorest households better off from next April.
On average, households will each benefit by £420 a year. The new rate means Universal Credit deductions will be capped at 15 per cent, down from 25 per cent.
This move comes alongside the rise in the Minimum Wage, which will benefit 3 million of the lowest paid workers by up to £1,400 year, and wider action the UK Government is taking to Make Work Pay and create more good jobs in every part of the country including in clean energy and through its modern industrial strategy.
With more than 200,000 children living in poverty in Scotland, and over 33,000 in Glasgow City, Liz Kendall MP heard the vast scale of the challenge facing communities and what is already being done locally to tackle the issue, including two child poverty ‘pathfinders’ in Glasgow and Dundee aiming to provide joined up support for families.
After hearing from families, leading organisations, the Scottish Government and public bodies with vital roles in children’s lives spanning from health to housing, including Public Health Scotland and the Scotland’s Children Commissioner, shared their insight and learnings with the Secretary of State at a roundtable discussion.
Charities including Aberlour, Joseph Rowntree Foundation Scotland and One Parent Families Scotland attended the event, as did the Scotland Minister for Equalities Kaukab Stewart MSP, the UK Minister for Employment Alison McGovern MP, and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland, Kirsty McNeill MP.
Both governments have pledged to work closely together to achieve the common aim of making sure every child in Scotland has the support they need to reach their full potential.
Secretary of State for Scotland Ian Murray is part of the Child Poverty Taskforce, which met earlier this week on the theme of increasing parents’ earned incomes, building employment stability and enabling progression in work.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall MP: “Tackling child poverty is a priority for the UK Government, and a personal priority for me.
“It is a moral stain on this country that there are now over 4 million children in the UK living in poverty, including 200,000 in Scotland.
“That is why the work of our Child Poverty Taskforce is so urgent. We will look at all the levers available at our disposal across Government to drive down poverty and drive-up opportunity for children and families in every corner of the UK.
“Scottish families and organisations are at the heart of our ambitious plans. The experiences and ideas they shared today are critical to our work to give all children in Scotland – and across the UK – the very best start in life.”
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UK Government Minister for Scotland Kirsty McNeill: “Hearing such stark and painful accounts from families about their daily struggles has been hugely humbling but a vitally important reminder about why we must and will reduce child poverty across the whole of the UK.
“It’s a national shame that more than 200,000 children are living in poverty in Scotland. We are taking action – the UK Budget progressed our commitment to transforming the lives of Scottish children facing poverty, and we’re making work pay to improve living standards by raising the minimum wage and making the biggest improvements to workers’ rights in a generation.
“But we know there’s much more to be done and the testimonies of these families is key in shaping our next steps. By joining together with the Scottish Government and with other agencies and charities we will work to boost incomes, improve financial resilience and ensure better local support.”
Aberlour, CEO, SallyAnn Kelly OBE: “We welcome the UK Child Poverty Taskforce coming to Scotland to hear about and better understand the impact of poverty on the lives of children and families.
“We hope the Taskforce has heard what Aberlour has to say, and more importantly what families have told them, and will take away those calls on how to reduce and tackle child poverty.
“We know that this will require urgent action to respond to what children and families need to alleviate the impact of poverty in their lives right now, as well as long term actions to achieve our shared ambition to end child poverty for good.”
Fellow co-chair, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, met with the Minister for Northern Ireland, Fleur Anderson, in Belfast, along with several key poverty organisations including Action for Children NI and Save the Children NI, as the Taskforce brings in voices from across the UK.
As part of the regular and widespread engagement on developing the Child Poverty Strategy, for the first time all the devolved governments and the UK Government met together on this issue last week.
This comes as the Government prepares to launch the Get Britain Working White Paper including plans to overhaul Jobcentres and join up work, health and skills plans to help people get back into work and get on in work, so they can build a better life for them and their families.
Edinburgh’s Hidden Door Festival is taking over a vast industrial site for its 2025 festival. Celebrating the new venue with a special launch event this weekend, Hidden Door will host a two-night programme of live music, visual art and performances.
The Paper Factory is a huge 15.5-acre site occupied by a former paper and cardboard manufacturing facility on the western edge of Edinburgh. The site features a mix of warehouses, factory floors, offices and outhouses. Situated next to Edinburgh Gateway tram and rail station, and with several main bus lines nearby, there are excellent transport links to the city centre as well as to Glasgow and the west.
Friday 22 November sees experimental electronica from Exterior, the heartfelt alt-pop of Paige Kennedy, post-punk edginess from Trout and the ever-evolving avant-electropop of Jane Weaver.
Saturday 23 November welcomes Black feminist punk band Big Joanie co-headlining with alt rock trio HotWax, with support from doom-punk quartet Witch Fever and dream pop duo Sarah/Shaun.
Alongside the live music, audiences can explore some of the huge factory spaces featuring the work of over 20 artists. A diverse range of media and artforms will be presented, including sculpture, performance, installation, painting, printmaking and large-scale works.
Between the live music, look out for pop-up dance and laser shows and an utterly unique light and drumming performance.
The Paper Factory will provide a base for Hidden Door throughout 2025 to work with artists on site-specific performance and art, commissioning new work and providing much needed workshop and studio spaces to the creative community.
Hidden Door is supported by Creative Scotland. Our launch party is sponsored by Bellfield Brewery, Jack Daniel’s and DirectControlUK.
The trailer below provides a taste of what to expect on 22 and 23 November:
Visitors to The Paper Factory are set to enjoy an utterly unique gig experience; a vast industrial space once echoing with the sound of heavy machinery, now reborn with live music, lights and projections.
Singer songwriter Jane Weaver returns to Hidden Door having performed at King Stables Road in 2016. Abusing, evading, and obliterating 20 years of whimsical pop trends, her reputation as a truly independent and resilient experimenter commands respect and inspiration in equal measures.
Big Joanie combines the fury of nineties riot grrrl with synth-heavy post punk. Their second album Back Home was released in November 2022 and ranked in Rolling Stone’s top albums of the year list, receiving critical acclaim in the Guardian, Wire Magazine and The Quietus.
Rock trio HotWax return to Edinburgh having graced the stage at Psych Fest in September. It’s been a meteoric rise for the young powerhouse, with their raw brand of post-punk, grunge and alternative rock both unique and familiar. Their debut album Hot Shock lands in 2025, with first single “She’s Got A Problem” recently released – a driving grunge-rock anthem that has become a live favourite during their packed summer tour.
Witch Fever are rising stars in the alternative rock scene, known for their ferocious energy and distinctive sound. Their infectious melodies have earned them a dedicated following and critical acclaim. Expect powerful riffs, haunting melodies, and thought-provoking lyrics tackling themes of empowerment, identity, and social justice.
Paige Kennedy brings their unique brand of banging alt-pop and heartfelt storytelling to Hidden Door. Listeners will be captivated by their danceable basslines, quirky lyrics and hook-laden songwriting challenging notions of acceptance, self-possession and gender expectations.
Edinburgh-based dream pop duo Sarah/Shaun released their debut EP It’s True What They Sayvia Hobbes Music in April.They narrate stories exploring themes of love, hope, family, friends, dreams and sadness – the good that comes with the bad in everyday life.
Liverpool based Trout brings her indie rock to Hidden Door. Signed to Chess Club Records last year, Trout released her 6-track debut EP Colourpicker. Indeed her first single was ‘Bugs’ released while studying music at The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. It was an ode to the productivity of the tiniest creatures on earth. Trout has continued to evolve her sound,meshing together a slew of genres in her own music.
Promising “synthesised music with a human touch”, Exterior (AKA Doug MacDonald) returns to Hidden Door to present a live performance of HOLOCENE, a stunning body of work emerging from three years of studio and live experimentation. Expect seamless reimagining of electronica which collapses the purported distinctions between dance and rock.
Visual Art
Hidden Door has invited over 20 artists to present work, with audiences set to discover an intriguing mix of sculpture, dance, performance, installation, painting, printmaking and large-scale works.
Inspired by Hidden Door’s 10th anniversary theme of Past, Present, Future, curator Jill Boualaxai has invited both new and returning artists, selecting works specifically for The Paper Factory. “We’re exploring time, history, and archaeology,” says Jill, “and the idea of nature creeping back into that industrial space.”
The cavernous venue provides an exciting opportunity for artists to literally work on an industrial scale. Jo Fleming Smith will evolve her work Flood from 2023 into a large-scale installation; Beth Shapeero and Fraser Taylor’s collaborative textile banners, first shown during Hidden Door 2021 in Granton, will also be making a comeback. James Epps’ sculptural installations, including cardboard and paper, create a material connection to the industrial history of the site.
Jill has also followed the thread of “imagined or alternate realities” that emerged through the programme’s contrast of history and reclamation. The works of artists such as Aimee Finlay and Christian Sloan recontextualise spiritual practices through ritualistic sculptures and futuristic visions.
Marly Merle’s wearable sculptures transport viewers into fantastical worlds, reimagining societal norms. Justine Watt transforms discarded domestic objects into intimate sculptures, examining the intersection of craftsmanship and sustainability.
Bringing together emerging and established artists, the Paper Factory will allow the artists to use the space to amplify their visions, offering viewers an immersive experience that blurs boundaries and invites them into histories both real and imagined.
The artists invited to present site-specific work include Aimee Finlay, Jo Fleming Smith, Beth Shapeero & Fraser Taylor, Sian Landau, James Epps, Marly Merle, Justine Watt, Rachel Bride Ashton, Christian Sloan, Martin Elden & Morwenna Kearsley plus Projector Club and Ross Blair / Trenchone.
The event will also play host to an art shop where visitors will have an opportunity to take home unique pieces.
Food News
We’ve lined up some tasty street food and drinks for your visit. We know it might be chilly (well it is November after all!) so we’re delighted to welcome back Fat Flamingo and Chicken Skoop serving up some delicious hot food, plus lovely hot coffee from Brew 52. There will of course be a full bar onsite too.
The Venue
The Paper Factory is located in the Maybury Quarter, a 15.5-acre site occupied by a former paper and cardboard manufacturing facility on the western edge of Edinburgh.
There will be a full scale Hidden Door festival at the venue in the spring of 2025 but to celebrate this news an event in November will give festival goers the opportunity to view this extraordinary site. The event will take place on Friday 22 and Saturday 23 November with free access to explore the venue during the day on the Saturday.
Bounded by the Edinburgh Gateway tram and rail station, and with several bus routes within a 5 minute walk, there are excellent transport links to both the city centre and the airport in only 10 minutes.
The Airlink 100 bus passes close to the venue and runs every 20 minutes throughout the night.
Hidden Door was originally founded in 2009 by a group of creatives seeking to make something interesting happen in the city. Their mission was to create events where audiences could experience art away from the traditional “white cube” gallery format.
The collective curated two events at the former Roxy Art House in 2010, bringing together visual art, performance, film and music. The closure of the Roxy left the group with no venue and over the subsequent years they explored options for running a multi-arts event in derelict spaces.
The idea grew as the volunteer team expanded, and in 2014 the first full Hidden Door Festival happened, when the team cleared out the disused Market Street vaults to run a 9-day celebration of the arts focused on showcasing local creative talent.
In 2015 the festival moved to a hidden courtyard behind Kings’ Stables Road, and returned in 2016, attracting over 12,000 visitors to experience a wealth of art, poetry, theatre, cinema, dance and music. In 2017 the festival breathed new life into the old Leith Theatre, attracting rave reviews and critical praise for resurrecting “Scotland’s best new live music venue”, winning VisitScotland’s Thistle Award for “Best Cultural Event”.
In 2018, the festival returned to Leith Theatre, also taking up residence in the derelict former State Cinema, just around the corner. A farewell weekend event took place at Leith Theatre in 2019. During the pandemic, Hidden Door put on a series of online events, and returned with a bang to live events for a five-day outdoor event at Granton Gasworks in 2021.
In 2022, Hidden Door took over the Old Royal High School on Calton Hill for a ten day festival that brought life back to the school for the first time in years.
In 2023, we transformed the former Scottish Widows office complex on Dalkeith Road for a five-day spectacular event. Our unique “Environments” invited audiences to explore our venue in an immersive and atmospheric experience that attracted 5-star reviews and won Creative Edinburgh’s City Award.
Earlier this year, we opened up the Basement 3 car park of the St James Quarter for an immersive two-night birthday party celebrating 10 years of Hidden Door Festivals.
We’ve recently received reports of vans being broken into and tools being stolen from within.
Please consider additional security measure to secure your tools:
– If possible park within secure buildings/yards, under CCTV and in well-lit areas, restricting access to the doors if possible (parking close to walls etc)
– You may wish to consider replacing existing locks with more robust alternatives, e.g. slam and dead locks, designed to withstand being overcome by tools such as grinders and lock picks.
– It is recommended to remove your tools from your van and the end of the day if possible, or consider installing a tool safe within.
– Ensure you keep a record of tool serial numbers and make tools appear unique as possible such as paint markings or stickers.
Keeping warm in winter is important as we get older as cold weather and winter bugs can affect us more than they used to. Winter weather can also stop us from getting out and about sometimes.
But there are things you can do to stay warm and well and prepare yourself and your home for the winter period:
Every 26 minutes a friend or loved one is diagnosed with lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. This Christmas we are asking people to make a difference by supporting our work to make sure no one has to face lymphoma alone.
We are the only charity in the UK dedicated to lymphoma and your support will help us make sure that people affected by the condition can access the information and support they need to help them through their lymphoma diagnosis, treatment and beyond.
There are many ways that you can show your support this festive season – from ordering charity gifts in Lymphoma Action’s Christmas shop, to holding a festive fashion day, making a donation or buying a beautiful Forever Flower as a special gift or way to remember a loved one.
We rely on the generosity of people like you to help us be there for people affected by lymphoma. Any gift you give will make a big difference to people affected by the UK’s fifth most common cancer – not only this Christmas, but all year round.
The report contains reflections from friends and family who have known him during this time, as well as those who he met along the way and were instrumental in his journey to recovery.
Since sobriety, addiction dealt another cruel blow to Ruairidh and his family, with the tragic and untimely death of his brother Alasdair in 2022 due to alcohol and drugs. Ruairidh reflects on this painful time and meets one of Alasdair’s closest friends, to remember his brother’s life.
Eòrpa: Recovery also brings together expert testimony from the world of science, academia, and outreach organisations who strive to minimise the effects, and understand the nature of drug and alcohol use in Scotland’s communities. With the festive season approaching, and with it a temptation to consume more alcohol, this is a time of year when worries about problem drinking can grow.
Ruairidh has known his friend Joanne Havinden since childhood.
Reflecting on Ruairidh’s addiction in his teens, she told him: “My memory of you when we were wee – you were so happy.
“And, you know, you were so good at word games and jokes and puns and making up stupid songs and all that kind of thing.
“And you stopped doing that sort of stuff and you were unhappy. You were really sad. You know, it was just like watching an out-of-control train and we didn’t know what to do to help.”
Kenny Trainer is the Project Manager at the Bluevale Community Club in Haghill and Dennistoun. It started off as a boxing club, but has expanded, with volunteers now helping with a variety of social issues nearby.
Asked if things had moved on since a joint visit in 2021 by then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, and then Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross, Kenny told Ruairidh: “To be honest with you, probably not.
“I think that, politics as politics go, they want to point fingers at each other and blame each other and say that one is better than the other, when realistically a lot of the time they are the exact same while nothing really changes and they’ve got the power to make it change.”
This is the first time Ruairidh has spoken publicly about his past issues with alcohol and drugs, and of his journey through recovery.
Reflecting on making this special edition of Eòrpa, Ruairidh said: “It’s vital that we have an open, compassionate and non-judgemental conversation about where things stand with alcohol and drugs in Scotland today.
“Addiction is something that could affect any person and any family. The reason I wanted to make this programme is that I’ve reached a stage in my recovery where I feel ready to add to that conversation and share some of my own experience.
“My journey brought me into contact with many individuals and organisations who helped me and it was a privilege to be able to go back and speak to some of them. Everything I have in my life today is rooted in the sobriety that they helped me to achieve.
“If this programme can offer hope to anyone struggling with addiction, or encourage them to seek support, it will have been worthwhile.”
Eòrpa is BBC ALBA’s flagship current affairs programme, covering a variety of domestic and European stories.
