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Lottery cash extends financial inclusion project

Port of Leith Housing Association (PoLHA) is one of five Edinburgh housing associations to benefit from Big Lottery Funding to continue the Financial Inclusion Project (FIP) until 2017.

FIP is a partnership project between Port of Leith, Castle Rock Edinvar, Dunedin Canmore, Hillcrest and Margaret Blackwood housing associations and the Edinburgh Citizens’ Advice Bureau. The programme, which enables the CAB to second money advice staff to the housing associations to provide financial and debt management advice, was established in January 2007.

Fiona Neilson runs the programme at PoLHA. Last year she helped over 130 tenants bringing them almost £75,000 of additional income. She said: “It is fantastic that funding has been secured to continue with this programme which has already helped hundreds of Edinburgh families manage their finances and bring a positive change in their lives. The project will now be funded until it celebrates its milestone tenth birthday – this shows what a success it has been and we are confident will continue to be.”

PoLHA, which has over 3000 tenants in North Edinburgh, also works with energy charity Changeworks to help tenants manage energy costs and efficiency, as well as a number of other support services.

Keith Anderson, Chief Executive at PoLHA, said: “This programme has been a major success and I am delighted this can now continue for a further four years. The changes effective money management can bring to families will help to ease pressure and worry and build confidence and skills.”

Erin McNeill will walk Challenge Scotland for The Fire Fighters Charity

Erin McNeill will walk Challenge Scotland for The Fire Fighters Charity.

via Erin McNeill will walk Challenge Scotland for The Fire Fighters Charity.

Edinburgh goes Dutch for cycling lessons!

bikes — BIKES but this is Bruges not Broughton …

Edinburgh must look to the Netherlands for inspiration in meeting its goal of boosting cycling rates, city council cycling leader Councillor Jim Orr told delegates at the annual Cycling Scotland Conference today.

The event at the COSLA Conference Centre in Haymarket was hosted by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in collaboration with Cycling Scotland, Royal HaskoningDHV, Cycle Nation, Sustrans and the Dutch Cycling Embassy.

Cllr Orr, who is Vice Convener of the City of Edinburgh Council’s Transport and Environment Committee, delivered the opening address to delegates.

He said: “The catchphrase for this year’s conference is “Love cycling, go Dutch” and, like me, I’m sure all those from Scotland are looking forward to learning how our Dutch colleagues have succeeded in building high cycling levels in that country and working out how we can follow suit here.”

Cllr Orr outlined Edinburgh’s ambition of having 15% of all journeys to work being made by bicycle by 2020 – up from the current level of around six per cent, and he acknowledged the positive publicity for cycling generated by Edinburgh Olympian Sir Chris Hoy and Tour de France victor Bradley Wiggins.

He went on to say that Edinburgh’s budget commitment for cycling is currently five per cent of the transport budget, but added that there is still plenty of work to be done if Edinburgh is to emulate the Dutch model.

“Transport culture is still dominated by the private car and the local bus company, and the majority of people don’t yet feel it’s safe to cycle on our streets. I’ve only been involved in cycling policy for six months and I know how complicated it can be. But personally I am an optimist and confident about our chances of meeting our targets for 15% of journeys to work by bike in eight years’ time.”

Who cares? North Edinburgh Arts to host carers event

The Edinburgh Carers Team is hosting a series of events for carers across the city to review the service – and one of the ‘Carers Supporting Carers’ events will be held at North Edinburgh Arts next week.

The City of Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh Community Health Partnership is reviewing the joint strategic action plan on support for carers, and they want to know what carers think:

‘Towards 2012′ was the joint strategic action plan for Edinburgh from 2007 – 2012. Has it made a difference to the lives of carers?

What should the priorities for carer support be for the next five years?

These events are one way to feed in your views, and are also part of a project to develop ways for carers to get more involved in planning the types of carer support that will be provided in the future. Come along to find out more.

The events offer the opportunity to:

Meet others who are carers for a relative or friend
Come for tea, cake and complementary therapies
Share your ideas and thoughts about services for carers
Hear ways for carers to shape services
Find out what support there is for carers in Edinburgh.

The local event takes place at North Edinburgh Arts Centre

on Friday 23 November from 2 – 4pm.

To book your place or to find out more contact:

Nina Anker Petersen, Outside the Box, Unit 23, 150 Brand St, Glasgow G51 1DH

Tel: 0141 419 0451 Email: nina@otbds.org

flyer for carers events november 2012

Community councillors needed

The decision to postpone community council elections this year is causing problems for some local community councils. Drylaw Telford and West Granton West Pilton Community Councils are just two who are looking to co-opt new blood to fill gaps until new community councils are formed at elections next year.

Alex Dale, chair of Drylaw Telford CC, said: “Our particular problem is that we only had one member who lives in the Telford area, and she no longer attends our monthly meetings. Telford has it’s own problems – inconsiderate parking is a big issue there – and it would be good if our community council had some ‘local knowledge’ of what’s going on there, from someone who actually lives in Telford. Our community council has some vacancies so we’re looking to co-opt a member from Telford to fill a gap that really needs to be filled before next year’s elections – Telford is not being adequately represented on our community council and we want to put that right as soon as we can”.

If you are interested in becoming a member of Drylaw Telford Community Council – the group meets on the last Wednesday of the month in Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre – or you’d like to find out more, email chairman Alex Dale at alex.dale@blueyonder.co.uk

West Granton West Pilton Community Council has also found it difficult to retain active members, and they’re on the lookout for new volunteers too. A spokesperson said: “There was some initial enthusiasm when our community council was first established but interested waned very quickly and we’ve had problems almost ever since. We recently had leaflets printed and delivered across the area to encourage residents to get involved but the response has been disappointing. We’ll plod on, but we could really use enthusiastic new members – realistically, we’re not expecting a mad rush, though. Community councils have not caught the imagination here.”

If you’re interested in getting involved in West Pilton West Granton Community Council call West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre on 551 3194 or the Prentice Centre on 552 0485, leave your details and the community council will contact you.

Edinburgh’s community council elections should have been taking place around now but the city council decided to delay the elections until October 2013.

What can be done to make community councils more relevant?

Do you attend your local community council meeting – are they just talking shops or do they get things done in your area?

Let us know!

Shipshape initiative targets litter in Leith

A community project to improve the appearance of Leith’s streets got underway today. Shipshape Leith is a three-week initiative organised by the City of Edinburgh Council and Lothian and Borders Police following consultation with local residents and businesses.

The initiative will see graffiti, stickers, posters and cable ties being removed from bins, lamp posts, street signs, bus stops, post boxes and telephone boxes. Streets being targeted are Leith Walk, Easter Road, Bonnington Road, Broughton Street, Duke Street, Newhaven Place to Salamander Street, North Junction Street, Great Junction Street and Constitution Street.

Local residents can play their part too – as part of the initiative a Volunteer Day has been organised for this Friday (16 November) in Constitution Street which will involve residents and representatives from the business community joining council staff and police in a clean up.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, Environment Convener, said: “The community spirit on display in Leith shows what can be achieved when everyone comes together with a common goal. At the end of the day the winners from this initiative are going to be those people who live and work in the area. No one likes seeing their streets looking untidy so I am sure the work planned over the coming weeks will have a positive impact. It is something everyone can take immense satisfaction and pride from. One of our key partnership commitments of the Capital Coalition is to maintain and improve the quality of life in Edinburgh and Shipshape Leith is a fine example of this in action.”

Sergeant Gordon Duff, from Lothian and Borders Police, said: “This initiative is a fantastic example of just some of the joint working that is being undertaken around the Kirkgate and Great Junction Street areas of Leith. Lothian and Borders Police is committed to identifying young people who are carrying out antisocial behaviour in the area, working with partners to address their behaviour and use solutions such as diversionary activities to ensure a long-term and sustainable change.”

Anyone wanting to take part in the Shipshape Leith Volunteer Day in Constitution Street should meet at the Kirkgate Victoria Monument at 9.30am on Friday 16 November.

People taking part in the three-week initiative include Council staff from various departments, the Leith Police Safer Neighbourhood Team and Community Payback offenders.

Trust Naomi – Job Ambassador!

The Prince’s Trust Scotland has appointed three young unemployed people from Edinburgh as Job Ambassadors in an effort to help other young people move into jobs and training. Naomi Johnstone, 26, from Leith, Heather Johnstone, 24, from Sighthill and Michelle Smith, 20, of Burdiehouse, join four other young people in the role.

The Trust’s Job Ambassador initiative will offer young people who have previously participated in Prince’s Trust programmes and who have been a Prince’s Trust Young Ambassador full-time employment for one year, allowing them to hone their skills and to reach out and support other young people.

The Job Ambassadors will be based within Prince’s Trust centres in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and North Lanarkshire, with a view to increasing their reach in the months ahead.

They will give inspirational talks based on their own experiences and provide one-to-one support and guidance, helping others to re-engage and prepare for work and training.

Naomi said: “Being a Job Ambassador means the world to me. It’s been so hard to get a job within the youth work sector and this is a brilliant opportunity. The Prince’s Trust is putting a lot of faith in us and I can’t wait to start getting out and meeting young people and helping them to start moving forward.”

Heather Gray, Director of The Prince’s Trust Scotland, said: “We know that long-term unemployment can be demoralising – crushing self-esteem and derailing ambition. The young people we are employing will have lived through this and will be able to draw on their own experiences to support other young people facing similar situations. Peer to peer support is hugely beneficial in inspiring young people to engage and achieve positive outcomes and our Job Ambassadors will offer crucial advice and guidance to help others find a job. This kind of investment in Scotland’s young people is vital if we are to ensure our young talent has the opportunity to achieve and sustain a positive future.”

Jim Sweeney, Chief Executive of YouthLink Scotland, added: “This is an excellent initiative to help tackle long-term youth unemployment in Scotland. I recently attended an event where I met some of the new Job Ambassadors, their personal stories are an inspiration to us all and they will be excellent role models for others to follow.”

A second group of Job Ambassadors will be recruited early next year as The Trust aims to introduce the initiative into new areas across Scotland.

Richard Cornish, Work Services Director for Jobcentre Plus in Scotland, said: “I welcome this initiative and we will continue to workin partnership with the Prince’s Trust to help tackle youth unemployment in Scotland. We know it’s a huge challenge, and that’s why Jobcentre Plus is committed to helping young peopledevelop the skills and experience they need to get a job through the £1 billion Youth Contract.”

Happy birthday, Rowanfield

A very happy birthday to Rowanfield Special School, which has now been part of the Drylaw community for ten years!

The school celebrated their special birthday with an extra-special party on Friday – and the children were all involved in planning the programme IN JUST A WEEK!

They did a great job – there was a piper, a video booth, a memories tree, food and refreshments (thanks to Miss Thomson, P6/7!), and videos of past events at Rowanfield.

Then there was an opportunity to sing the Rowanfield School song, a presentation to Mr Glover who’s been a volunteer at the school since it opened and three P7 pupils devised, wrote and recorded a Rowanfield Rap – all in under an hour!

You can’t really have a birthday party without a birthday cake, and Rowanfield pupils starred again – Cameron baked a lovely cake and Darren decorated it with the party’s Angry Birds theme!

Head Teacher Leanne Sharpe told guests: “I think our children have done remarkably well in organising our party – every one of them has helped in some way and they have all worked really hard to make the party a success, so it’s great to see everyone enjoying themselves”.

Senior pupils Dale and Liam helped the Head Teacher cut the birthday cake.

They came, they saw, they planted!

They came from schools, from projects, from churches and from nice warm houses – they came from all over Muirhouse on a mission: to plant thousands of bulbs on Muirhouse Avenue.

The gardeners braved chilly winds and showers over Friday and Saturday to plant their bulbs. The fruits of their labours won’t be seen until springtime – but it’s sure to be worth the wait!