Uncategorized – Page 287 – The NEN

POLCATS pounce on the streets of Leith!

A team of volunteers from Port of Leith Housing Association (PoLHA) and the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) have taken part in their first clean up together.

The POLCATS (Port of Leith Community Action Team) and the CEC’s City Centre Leith Neighbourhood team, spent two days litter picking, weeding, sweeping, removing graffiti from bins and removing dumped items from Pitt Street and Trafalgar Lane.

Claire Ironside, Director of Customer Services at PoLHA, said: “We have several properties in Trafalgar Lane and Pitt Street, so it was a natural choice for us to target these streets first. We were also helped by local businesses that went out of their way to move cars and vans to allow access to the streets.

“We have received some very positive feedback from our first community clean up and are looking forward to carrying out similar activities in the future to ensure our neighbourhoods are looking clean and tidy.”

… after

Skool Dayz

~~Six of the Best~~ Ten from the Archives

Trawling through old memory cards looking for a picture I got sidetracked when I came across these ‘old school’ images. Stir any memories?

Muirhouse young team JASS it up at Ratho

Ratho residential for JASS groups

Muirhouse Community Centre and the Junior Award Scheme Scotland (JASS) which is based in the Centre held a joint residential during the October break.

The residential was at the ever popular Pilton Retreat at Ratho. The first group (girls) went on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and when they arrived back at 4 pm it was a quick change over with the boys jumping onto the minibus for the Wednesday afternoon and all day Thursday and Friday!

The young people had a brilliant time as did the staff and the volunteers (apart from the age old residential problem of trying to get ten hyper children to settle down at bedtime! The children took masses of photos and the best ones will be copied to a CD as a memento of their trip (a wee selection of the photos are pasted below).

A special thanks to Donna (Youth Worker) and Tyler Sherriff (our new local volunteer with the girls) and Chris and Paul (our boys group volunteers). Also thanks to Ken and Paul at Ratho for all their help and their local knowledge when planning our activities.

Peter Airlie(Muirhouse Community Centre Manager) and Allan Hosey(CLD) were there for all five days and by the boys group’s return on Friday night the workers were moving like zombies … this was due to sleep deprivation rather than the approach of Halloween!

It was the first time for several years that the Centre has been able to organise a residential for primary school aged children and the initial evaluation from all involved was very positive.

James McGinty

Broughton's Good Samaritans!

You never have to look too hard to find articles critical of young people, so it’s always nice to be able to tell the other side of the story. Step forward Comely Bank woman Helen MacDonald.

Helen, who is 76, was clearing up following a family birthday party at LifeCare House. Whilst leaning over to dump bags of rubbish in a big bin in Comely Bank Street she took a dizzy turn and fell. Disorientated, Helen was confused and unable to get back to her feet.

“To be honest I wasn’t sure what I was going to do”, she said. “It all happened very quickly and it was a bit of a blur. One second I was putting bags of rubbish in a bin and the next I was on the ground. I felt a bit daft!”

Help was at hand, however. Three S2 Broughton High School pupils were on lunch break when they witnessed the accident, and in the finest tradition of the Three Musketeers Justin Youngs, Mason Harrison and Reece Head leapt to the aid of a damsel in distress.

The boys quickly got Helen back on her feet again, and, having been reassured that Helen was none the worse for her mishap, the students headed back to Broughton.

That may have been the end of the story, but for Helen’s daughter – another Helen. When she heard her mum’s story she felt that the schoolboys deserved some recognition for their prompt actions so she embarked on some detective work. Young Helen – it had been her birthday party, incidentally – contacted the Head Teacher at Broughton and the three students were soon traced.

Last week Helen – who has made a full recovery – was reunited with Justin, Mason and Reece at the Inverleith Community Conference at Broughton High School. The boys remained modest about their actions, but Helen gave the lads small gifts to show her appreciation and said: “I am really happy to have the chance to say a proper ‘thank you’ to the boys. I really don’t know how long I would have been there if they hadn’t come to help me. You do hear lots of awful things about young people but these boys are a real credit to their families and their school.”

Broughton’s Good Samaritans!

You never have to look too hard to find articles critical of young people, so it’s always nice to be able to tell the other side of the story. Step forward Comely Bank woman Helen MacDonald.

The boys quickly got Helen back on her feet again, and, having been reassured that Helen was none the worse for her mishap, the students headed back to Broughton.

EVOC update

Please help us help you by completing our questionnaire about local Voluntary Sector Forums.

Please see link below to a survey regarding the local Voluntary Sector Forums which asks questions of your involvement with, and your experience of, participating in the Forum within your area.

http://www.evoc.org.uk/blog/voluntary-sector-forums/

I have already met some of you who have shared their experiences with me. However, having looked at the notes from these meetings I have realised that this is an opportunity to collate as many opinions as possible and try to identify what the strengths of the Forums are, how we build on these strengths whilst acknowledging and identifying where improvement can be achieved.

Can I ask you to take 10 minutes out to complete this more comprehensive questionnaire?

A discussion paper will then be produced highlighting the results and looking at a way forward to ensuring everyone, who wants to, can engage fully and effectively with both Voluntary Sector Forums and also Neighbourhood Partnerships. This piece of work will also complement and feed into the Neighbourhood Partnership Review.

All organisations responding to this questionnaire will be kept fully informed of the findings and we also hope to highlight best practice and some of the successes achieved by all organisations working together.

http://www.evoc.org.uk/blog/voluntary-sector-forums/

EVOC’s AGM and Annual Conference 2014: ‘Chasing Unicorns’

‘Chasing Unicorns’, EVOC’s Third Sector Conference and Annual General Meeting, will be held on 11 November 2014 from 9:30am (for 10am start) to 1.30pm at the Norton Park Conference Centre in Edinburgh. We’ll be exploring the future of Scotland’s Third Sector – and any opportunities or challenges that may arise post Referendum.

Full details of the event and booking form available here.

Homing in: Edinburgh writers shine in new anthology

Five Edinburgh residents who wrote short stories about what ‘home’ means to them for a national writing competition have had their submissions chosen to be published in a book.

They beat off competition from over 500 other entries to win a place in a special book entitled Scotland’s Stories of Home. Their submissions will feature alongside entries from 33 other winners and author contributors such as Alan Warner, Vic Galloway, Kirsty Logan and Beatrice Colin.

The winners include:

Seonaid Cook, writing as Shona Cook, who submitted ‘Home Run’, a story that recounts a train journey from Edinburgh to London in which she ponders her feelings about the Scottish Referendum.

Commenting on the publication of her story, Seonaid said: “The project was timely; helping me confront complex feelings about where I belong after changes in family and career and discussions around the independence referendum. I’m excited, if a little nervous, to see my work in print for the first time since I set out to be a writer.”

Sine Kay Harris, a student at the University of Glasgow, submitted ‘Shell’, a story about finding ‘home’ in amongst the bookshelves of Edinburgh’s public libraries.

Sine said: “I think the Scotland’s Stories of Home project is a really wonderful opportunity to give the people of Scotland a chance to speak for themselves about what this country we all call home means to them.”

Laura Clay, an editor for the Raspberry Pi Foundation, submitted ‘A Story of Homecoming’. Her story explores her experience of getting to know Edinburgh again after eight years of living down south.

Laura said: “The Stories of Home project has meant a great deal to me; having moved back to Edinburgh after eight years away, it’s been a good way of reconnecting with the city I love. I feel very lucky to be included in the book. It’s the first time my writing has been published, and I’m hoping my other work will be similarly successful in future!”

The other Edinburgh winners were Julie Morrice, a music teacher living in Newington, with her poem ‘Travelling Home’ and Lorna Malone, a copywriter for an investment company, with her short story ‘A Potful of Home.’

The competition was held by Scottish Book Trust, the leading agency for the promotion of literature, reading and writing in Scotland, and encouraged members of the public to express in writing what ‘home’ as a place or a concept means to them. Contributions included poems as well as prose that tell tales of childhood, communities, family life, travel and food.

To celebrate the third year of Book Week Scotland (24 – 30 November 2014) more than 150,000 free copies of Scotland’s Stories of Home will be gifted to people throughout the week. The books will be distributed in local bookshops, public libraries, prisons, hospitals, visitor information centres, ferry terminals and train stations. All the stories entered for the competition are available to read at www.bookweekscotland.com.

Scotland’s Stories of Home also features original commissioned contributions from some of the best-loved names in Scottish arts andliterature, including Alan Warner, Des Dillon and a special contribution in Gaelic from Catriona Lexy Chaimbeul.

Sophie Moxon, Acting Director of Scottish Book Trust said: “Scotland’s Stories of Home has given people of all ages living in Scotland a chance to express in writing what ‘home’ means to them. We received hundreds of submissions from members of the public, sharing beautifully unique stories of home as a place and a concept and are delighted to be able to give away 150,000 free copies of this wonderful book for Book Week Scotland 2014.”

All the entries to the Scotland’s Stories of Home campaign can be read here: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/reading/stories-of-home

The Edinburgh winner’s stories are available at the following links:

Shona Cook’s ‘Home Run’: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/reading/stories-of-home/story/home-run

Sine Kay Harris’ ‘Shell’: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/reading/stories-of-home/story/shell

Laura Clay’s ‘A Story of Homecoming’: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/reading/stories-of-home/story/a-story-of-homecoming

Julie Morrice’s ‘Travelling Home’: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/reading/stories-of-home/story/travelling-home

Lorna Malone’s ‘A Potful of Home’: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/reading/stories-of-home/story/a-potful-of-home

PYCP AGM this Friday

A quick reminder that Pilton Youth & Childrens Project (PYCP) annual general meeting is on Friday (7 November) at 2pm in The Greenhouse. Details below:

AGM PYCP 2014

Cold comfort: millions to benefit from winter weather support

Extra government help as the Cold Weather Payments season begins

An estimated 4 million people are in line for extra government help this year to turn up the heating during the coldest snaps, as the Cold Weather Payments season begins today (1 November 2014).

Poorer pensioners and low-income households, which include disabled people or children under the age of 5, could be due a £25 Cold Weather Payment each time temperatures either dip below an average of zero degrees Celsius for 7 consecutive days, or are forecast to do so.

The latest figures show that more than £700 million has been paid out to vulnerable people under this scheme since 2010 through some 28 million separate payments.

The Westminster government’s permanent increase to £25 means that an additional £466 million has been paid out – 3 times the amount that would have been paid if Cold Weather Payments had remained at their previous rate of £8.50.

DWP Minister Steve Webb said: “It is vital that pensioners and vulnerable people are given extra help to turn up the thermostat and keep warm when temperatures plunge.

“This help, combined with the Winter Fuel Allowance and Warm Home Discount Scheme, is making a real difference to help the most vulnerable people in our society.

“In most cases, Cold Weather Payments are paid automatically to those eligible. But I urge anyone, especially older people who might be missing out on Pension Credit, to call us.”

There are up to 1.6 million pensioners who may be entitled to Pension Credit who are not currently claiming it and who could be eligible for Cold Weather Payment as a result.

Who qualifies?

Pensioners on Pension Credit will usually qualify for the scheme. Some people on other benefits may also qualify for a Cold Weather Payment, including:

Income Support
income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Universal Credit

People can find out if they are due a Cold Weather Payment by calling

0800 99 1234

This number can also be used to claim Pension Credit and Housing Benefit without having to sign a form.

Find out more about Cold Weather Payments

Police action in West Pilton producing results

News from Edinburgh North Police

West Pilton Community Action

Police patrols continue in the West Pilton and surrounding areas. This week the following results have been achieved:

* 62 persons stopped and searched.
* 14 persons arrested or reported
* Male arrested on two warrants relating to domestic abuse
* 2 pedal cycles have been recovered, valued at £2000
* Male charged with breach of the peace after causing ASB in the area
* Male charged with supplying controlled drugs with £330 drugs recovered.
* Fireworks seized from 5 youths in West Pilton
* Male stopped and searched, found with heroin
* Male found in possession for NPS.
* Following pursuit of stolen car a male made off and was traced hiding nearby. Was then charged with Housebreaking offences after stolen property found in the car.
* Bail conditions enforced and a male charged for failing to adhere to conditions.
* Two drivers charged with driving un-roadworthy vehicles
* A female c/c with possession of cannabis.

Chief Inspector Sara Buchanan said: “This action highlights our continued commitment to the West Pilton community and we will be working further with our partner agencies to improve the quality of life for local residents, tackle the issues at the heart of the community and build a ‪#‎StrongerNorth‬”