The NEN – North Edinburgh News – Page 3890 – The community media resource for north Edinburgh

Shelter urges ten year plan to tackle homelessness

A new 10-year action plan to address homelessness prevention and crisis services must be put in place if Scotland wants to remain a world leader on the issue, according to Shelter Scotland.

The housing charity believes that an action plan will help Scotland to maintain focus and deliver the ongoing commitment made through the country’s landmark 2012 homelessness legislation – which gave every unintentionally homeless person the right to settled accommodation.

Graeme Brown, Director of Shelter Scotland, said: “We now need to build a homelessness service that has the person at its heart and enables homeless people to make choices that are right for them”.

The call for a 10-year action plan comes ahead of Shelter Scotland’s annual conference: ‘Housing, homelessness, advice and prevention’, which will see experts focus on the impact of bad housing on health inequalities in Scotland, and other key priorities for the sector.

The charity believes the 10-year action plan must respond to current and future challenges for housing and homelessness advice services and set out the key objectives at national and local level. It should be built with the aim of delivering person-centred services which allow flexibility and choice, and lead to sustainable housing outcomes forall service users.

Last year there were 39,827 homelessness applications in Scotland with 10,471 families and individuals in temporary accommodation.

Graeme Brown said: “Scotland has the most progressive homelessness legislation in the world, but that doesn’t mean that homelessness has gone away. It still exists in all its various forms. Meeting the 2012 commitment was an important landmark but we now need to look forward to the next ten years to ensure that progress continues and we don’t take any backward steps.

“We now need to work in partnership and build a homelessness service that has the person at its heart and enables homeless people to make choices that are right for them. This is about people, not processes.”

He concluded: “We expect the coming years to be extremely challenging as a result of welfare reforms and the introduction of Universal Credit – which is set to bring even more disruption to people’s lives. While we hope there isn’t a rise in homelessness, we must be prepared for the challenges that undoubtedly lie ahead. A ten-year action plan would be the best place to start.”

Author Matt Cartney enthralls Craigroyston

Author and adventurer Matt Cartney (pictured below) visited Craigroyston High School on Friday (4 October) to talk to the S1 pupils.

He entertained us all for 90 minutes with tales of his adventures to Morocco and Norway that were the inspiration for his first two novels in the Danny Lansing adventure series: ‘The Sons of Rissouli’ and ‘Red, White and Black’. Matt gave us an insight into how his love for adventure has been with him since childhood, and that he wanted to write the sort of books he loved reading as a boy.

The pupils sat enthralled for an hour, before quizzing Matt with a series of penetrating questions – we found that Tin Tin was his favourite book at school, though he also loved books by H. Rider Haggard and Arthur Ransome. It can take him a year of researching and travelling before he starts to write a book. He has also taken some of his childhood friends and used them as the basis for Danny’s friends. We found out that of all the countries in the world that he has visited, his favourites are Morocco, Tibet and New Zealand.

His next novel due out in 2014 will be set in a tropical jungle and the fourth Danny Lansing adventure – which he has just started – will be set in Russia.

Well, we can’t wait to read these when they are published!

Craigroyston Community High School

Have your say on policing plan

Police Scotland has launched an online survey that aims to give people in Edinburgh the opportunity to shape policing in the Capital. The survey, which is now available on the Police Scotland website, seeks the views of residents and stakeholders on how policing should be delivered across the city over the next three years.

The Edinburgh Policing Plan 2014-2017 will outline the approach that will be taken in communities across the Capital, based on local priorities. Police want people who live and work in the city to have their say on the plan, and are making contact with community groups, businesses and other organisations in order to canvass views.

The consultation process gets underway today with the launch of the online survey, which can be accessed through the following link http://svy.mk/159rXJe to surveymonkey.com.

There will also be a series of community sessions held across all city neighbourhoods later this year, as well as a stakeholder summit.

Superintendent Matt Richards, from Police Scotland, said: “The policing plan will be fundamental to our approach to policing Edinburgh over the period 2014-2017, and it is vital that people play their part in helping to inform the content of the plan.

“The online survey is a great opportunity for people to have their say in how policing is delivered in the Capital, and we want as many as possible to get involved, so that we can shape our plans around what is important to local communities.

“Policing our communities and keeping people safe are enduring priorities for Police Scotland, and we are committed to ongoing engagement with those who live and work in Edinburgh as we follow a common path to make our communities safer and stronger.”

Cllr Mike Bridgman, Convener of the Interim Police and Fire Committee, said: “We welcome the opportunity residents are being given to comment on the new plan. It is important now that we further develop partnership working with Police Scotland, particularly in the area of community policing.”

Help with heating bills

A new national campaign to ensure households know what energy initiatives they are entitled to was launched today (October 7). The campaign following a recent survey which shows 75 per cent of Scots are worried about their energy bills.

Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, launched the campaign which highlights the benefits available to Scots through the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Scotland hotline [0808 808 2282] which offers free impartial energy advice and support.

The Scottish Government has a budget of £74 million this year to help Scots reduce their fuel bills and transform Scotland’s housing stock into warmer, more efficient, greener homes – all part of actions to increase energy efficiency and tackle fuel poverty in 2013/14.

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The Home Energy Scotland hotline is an invaluable source of support for householders all over the country, providing a one stop shop for the Scottish Government’s home energy-saving initiatives.

“Many people are losing money by not taking up initiatives, yet anyone can apply for up to £1200 towards home improvements that will make their home warmer, greener and more cost-effective.

“Many people will also qualify to get energy-saving home improvements such as insulation, boilers or central heating for free. The hotline’s advisers are friendly and impartial and one call is all it takes to see what you might be eligible for.”

A YouGov survey recently found that three-quarters of Scots are concerned about the cost of their energy bills this winter, while more than 70 per cent of Scottish bill payers said last winter’s energy bills had a negative impact on their disposable income. Around 80 per cent (81 per cent) of householders also admit to being energy wasters at home.

More than 800,000 Scots have been offered energy advice or assistance on heating bills since 2009 , accessible through the Home Energy Scotland hotline.

Thousands of households across Scotland are eligible to have insulation, boilers and central heating installed for free. One call to the hotline is all it takes to find out if you qualify.

A home that isn’t well insulated can lose more than 50 per cent of its heat through its roof and walls, yet just a quarter of Scots surveyed would consider getting new insulation compared to the 71 per cent that said they would consider wearing a coat or extra jumper indoors in order to keep their bills low.

The Home Energy Scotland hotline’s expert advisers can inform callers which of the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Efficiency Programmes they qualify for, as well as giving personalised advice on how to make homes more efficient.

Home Energy Scotland hotline

0808 808 2282

Ainslie Park housing consultation today

Community Consultation Exhibition

Former Telford College North Campus (Ainslie Park School) Crewe Road North

Miller Homes is hosting a second consultation regarding its proposal to develop this site. A drop-in exhibition to view the latest proposals is being held today:

Thursday 3 October between 2pm and 7pm

At Varcity North – Sales Centre

Crewe Road North

Further information from Caroline Owen at GVA on 0131 469 6068 or caroline.owen@gva.co.uk

Port of Leith’s bean busy supporting charity coffee morning

Port of Leith Housing Association (PoLHA) has raised nearly £1300 for Macmillan Cancer Support. PoLHA’s sheltered housing developments at St Nicholas Court in Ferry Road and Hermitage Court in Academy Park in Leith hosted events for their residents and locals as part of the charity’s ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’ initiative.

Around thirty people attended Hermitage Court’s light lunch and over forty people enjoyed the delights of home-made soup, home bake sale and raffle at St Nicholas Court. The complexes raised a very tasty £1087 between them, and a staff coffee morning at PoLHA’s Constitution Street office raised a further £209!

Maureen Tait, Senior Sheltered Housing Coordinator for PoLHA who manages St Nicholas Court, said: “We are delighted so many people came along to help makes the coffee mornings a success. Without their generosity we would not have been able to raise such a vast amount of money to this fantastic cause.”

Work under way on West Pilton’s 21st Century Homes

Pupils from St David’s and Pirniehall Primary Schools rolled their sleeves up to lend a hand when work on the new 21st Century Homes development at West Pilton Crescent got underway last week. The children had the honour of cutting the first little sods … and no, definitely no further comments!

Our thanks for Councillor Vicki Redpath for the photographs

Date set for NEN AGM

agm notice

It’s been quite a year for your community newspaper North Edinburgh News. You can find out what’s happened, what’s happening now and future plans when the NEN annual general meeting takes place next month.

The AGM will be held at 7.30pm on Tuesday 12 November at Spartans Community Academy’s club rooms, Ainslie Park. All welcome. A full agenda will be published here on the blog nearer the meeting date.

Fresh Start gets down to business

Resettlement charity Fresh Start has welcomed it’s first ever Business Manager as the charity goes through a period of growth. Joyce Clark takes up the newly created role with the Pilton-based charity, which works to help people make a home for themselves.

Ms Clark comes from a business and marketing background, with her most recent role in the third sector at Sacro, the national community justice voluntary organisation.

The new Business Manager role was created to help the charity grow as demand for its services continues to rise. Fresh Start’s board of directors decided at the start of the recession to promote a programme of expansion which has helped them to meet some of that demand – but the charity is still unable to help all those who need it.

Fresh Start provides a range of services: a Starter Pack service to help people with the basics needed to set up a new home; a Hit Squad service to help people decorate their new home and provide social support; and a training and employability service for people who have been homeless through its social enterprise in PAT Testing.

Keith Robertson, Fresh Start’s Managing Director, said: “We are delighted to welcome Joyce to Fresh Start in this newly created role as we expand and grow. Fresh Start has already come far from its roots, based in one of the member’s garages, helping just a handful of people in Pilton. But we are growing faster than ever before and we’re delighted Joyce is starting to help steer the ship in the right direction.”

Business Manager Joyce Clark said: “Fresh Start is a place where real tangible results can be seen in helping people to turn their lives around, thanks to the right kinds of support. I’m delighted to work with such a committed organisation and team – and look forward to helping the charity continue to support people to have a fresh start in life and develop ways of meeting the growing demand.”

Letter: public services paying the price

Dear Editor

Wage increases restricted to 1% maximum. Price increases averaging 3%, with gas, electricity and rail fares rising even more. This is not a one-off, it is a policy continuation over the last three years. Every working person is feeling the pinch, more so those on low incomes – in very many households the question of heating the home is decided by how much cold one can stand first.

Passing the cost of the colossal greed and mismanagement by the banks and financial institutions onto the people is bordering on criminal – especially as huge salaries and bonuses are still being paid to the people at the top, Their political supporters have been very busy making sure the people pay, but that is not enough for them.

They have also seized the chance to break up, privatise and destroy as many public services as possible – the very services, both local and national, that are needed more than ever. These services have been struggled for and paid for in taxation; they haven’t been given to us, this begs the question: how has the Tory/Lib government been able to do so much harm to so many?

First, any resistance had to be broken or diverted, pointing out people to blame, setting one section against another – those in work (‘hard workers’) against those out of work (‘layabouts’), people not on benefits against those on benefits (‘scroungers’), disabled people (‘shirkers’, or ‘work shy’). That so many people were taken in by these tales is a disaster, not only for the scapegoated but because every individual is under the same threat.

Emboldened by this success the Tory/Lib government felt confident enough to go even further and dictate how much space a hame needs (the ‘bedroom tax’) and in doing so giving the like-minded controllers licence to dictate, if on benefits, what people should or should not buy.

It is important every person listens very carefully to what is being told to them and why, and by defending others’ rights you defend your own.

The famous speech by Pastor Neimoller is really worth recalling:

First they came for the communists

And I did not speak out because I was not a communist

Then they came for the socialists

and I did not speak out because I wasn’t a socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists

and I did not speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist

Then they came for me

and there was no one left to speak for me.

Most people have one asset, the ability to work; when the opportunity to exercise this is denied it has disastrous consequences on individuals and families, made worse by destroying public services.

A. Delahoy

Silverknowes Gardens