Tag: appeal

Hourglass: Time’s running out

Millions of older people at risk of abuse unless Helpline receives urgent funding

Millions of older people could be at risk of abuse unless urgent funding is found for the UK’s only helpline dedicated to helping those affected by abuse.

Hourglass, the only charity in the UK dedicated to ending the abuse of older people, has a free 24/7 helpline available to anyone concerned about an older person at harm from abuse, whether that’s at home or within the care industry.

Hourglass is calling on the UK Government to help underpin the helpline and help appoint more Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs) who specialise in the abuse of older people.

Shortly before she died, the charity’s founder Baroness Greengross wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging the Government to give adequate financial support so the Hourglass helpline can survive.

There has been no response from the Prime Minister, the Home Office or anyone else in Government, despite calls from various MPs and Peers across the political spectrum for them to do so.

The Hourglass helpline currently receives more than 12,000 calls every year, but the charity will have to start significantly reducing its services to society’s most vulnerable older people, unless the Government approves funding by September. The charity predicts that by October this life changing service will need to downsize dramatically.

A report published by Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) recently found that 67% of directors are seeing the number of domestic abuse and safeguarding cases rising. This is further evidence that abuse of older people is a growing problem and further funding and support is vital to ensure older people age safely.

Every year, a million more new older people experience abuse and the charity’s services provide a vital lifeline for those in need.

To survive, the charity needs £1.2 million a year to continue. Unfortunately, current UK Government funding only covers the helpline from 5pm to 9am. To enable the helpline to be available 24/7, Hourglass has been forced to run on its reserves.

Richard Robinson, CEO of Hourglass, said: “Every single year, around 2.5 million older people are effected by abuse. This could be physical, emotional, financial or sexual abuse or neglect and discrimination in the UK.

“The services we provide are a real lifeline to those in need, but without urgent funding, it will be impossible to carry on at our current levels.

“The consequences of leaving vulnerable elderly people to fend for themselves are usually too terrifying to contemplate. However, this is becoming a tragic reality as we battle to keep providing the helpline so many of them will come to rely on.

“Out of respect to Baroness Greengross, who championed the rights of older people for so many years, and to the millions of older people at risk of abuse, the government now need to take action and provide adequate funding for this service.”

The charity is urging those keen to support the charity to make a donation by visiting www.wearehourglass.org.uk/donate or Text SAFER to 70460 to donate £10. Texts cost £10 plus one standard rate message and you’ll be opting in to hear more about our work and fundraising via telephone and SMS.

If you would like to give £10 but do not wish to receive marketing communications, text SAFERNOINFO to 70460.

Have you seen Douglas?

Police are appealing for the public’s help as part of our efforts to trace Douglas Bramley, who has been reported missing in Edinburgh.

There are growing concerns for the 33-year-old, who lives in Edinburgh area and was last seen near the Grange area around 9pm on Sunday, 10 July.

Douglas is described as white, 6ft in height, slim build, with short dark brown hair and facial stubble. He is wearing jeans and a black T shirt.

Anyone who may have seen Douglas, or who has any information on his whereabouts, is urged to contact Police Scotland via 101 quoting incident number 2234 of 11 July

Letters: Mary’s Meals appeal

Dear Editor,  

Today, more than 64 million primary school-age children miss out on an education around the world because of poverty. 

Leaving a gift in your will, no matter how small, is an incredibly generous way you can help us bring hope to those desperately hungry children who often need to work or beg for food in order to survive. 

With the promise of a daily meal in a place of education, Mary’s Meals is attracting hungry children into the classroom giving them the energy to learn how to read and write. 

For children like 13-year-old Ballah from Liberia – who used to skip school – Mary’s Meals fills his empty stomach and is allowing him to gain a precious education so he can follow his dreams of becoming a doctor.  

“Food is important,” he says. “Most days, I don’t eat breakfast and I feel so hungry I can barely study. After eating Mary’s Meals, I feel active. 

“When I qualify as a doctor, I’d like to stay in Liberia and teach others how to do the same.” 

With a gift in your will, you can help us keep our promise to more than 2.2 million children in some of the world’s poorest communities who rely on our nutritious meals and will be giving children like Ballah the chance of a brighter future. 

If you would like more information about leaving a gift in your will, please visit www.marysmeals.org.uk/will 

Lori Cobley,

Partnership Manager at Mary’s Meals 

Police: Firearms Surrender appeal

Firearms and ammunition can be surrendered at police stations across Scotland as part of a UK-wide firearms surrender campaign.

Running from Thursday 12 May until Sunday 29 May, people in possession of firearms and ammunition, for which they do not hold a valid certificate, will be able to surrender these to police.

In addition to being able to hand in firearms and ammunition, the public will be able to hand over replica firearms, air weapons, BB guns, imitation firearms, component parts and other ballistic items.

The public can hand firearms and weapons to any police station, however are asked where possible to attend at designated locations across Scotland.

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Speirs said: “The purpose of the firearms surrender campaign is to remove firearms from criminal availability and therefore reduce the risk of harm to the public and our communities.

“People will be able to surrender unlicensed weapons and ammunition to a number of dedicated police stations throughout Scotland and I would encourage people to do so.”

Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans Keith Brown said: “I would encourage anyone in possession of an unneeded or unlicensed firearm or air weapon to safely hand it over to police at one of their designated police stations.

“Firearm offences remain at historically low levels in Scotland, but by removing unwanted weapons this important campaign by Police Scotland will help keep our communities safe and prevent firearms from falling into the wrong hands.”

Dedicated stations for the surrender are:

EAST

Edinburgh Division

St Leonards

Fife Division

Levenmouth

Kirkcaldy

Dunfermline

Forth Valley Division

Stirling Randolphfield

Falkirk

Lothians and Scottish Borders

Dalkeith

Galashiels

Haddington

Livingstone

NORTH

Highland and Islands Division

Burnett Road

Dingwall

Fort William

Kirkwall

Lerwick

Nairn

Portree

Stornoway

Wick

North East Division

Banchory

Elgin

Ellon

Inverurie

Kittybrewster

Mintlaw

Stonehaven

Tayside Division

Dundee

Forfar

Perth

WEST

Argyll and West Dumbartonshire Division

Campbeltown

Clydebank

Dumbarton

Dunoon

Islay

Lochilphead

Oban

Rothesay

Ayrshire Division

Ayr

Irvine

Kilmarnock

Lamlash

Dumfries and Galloway Division

Annan

Castle Douglas

Dumfries HQ

Lockerbie

Loreburn, Dumfries

Newton Stewart

Stranraer

Sanquhar

Greater Glasgow Division

Aitkenhead Road

Govan

Kirkintilloch

London Road

Lanarkshire Division

Hamilton

Motherwell

Renfrewshire and Inverclyde Division

Greenock

Paisley

Letters: Ending veterans’ homelessness for good

Dear Editor

We’ve seen a dramatic rise in the number of homeless veterans seeking help since the pandemic. With the rising cost of living crisis, we know the situation is going to get worse. 

Too often former members of the Armed Forces miss out on housing support because they aren’t identified as a veteran. As leading voices in the veterans housing sector, we’ve joined the No Homeless Veterans [www.nohomelessveterans.org.uk] campaign to urge local authorities to do more.

It’s vital that when someone needs help with housing, they are asked whether they’ve served in the Forces. If they have, this should be recorded. Once identified, they can be directed towards support that’s available.

Many, particularly in Scotland, already do, but all local authorities across the UK should be identifying veterans quickly. There is no need for them to be sofa surfing, bouncing from hostel to hostel, or sleeping on the streets. Our heroes deserve better and it’s inexcusable to leave them out in the cold.

Yours sincerely

Richard Gammage, CEO, Stoll

Andrew Lord MBE, CEO, Alabaré

Bernard Stonestreet, Executive Secretary/Founder, East Sussex Veterans Hub

Tim Stockings, CEO, Haig Housing

Sheena MacKay, Case Manager, Help for Heroes

Steve Bentham-Bates, CEO, Help 4 Homeless Veterans

Moira Bayne, CEO, Housing Options Scotland

Colonel (Ret’d) Tony Gauvain, Chair/CEO, PTSD Resolution

Emrys Rogers, Head of Housing & Assurance, Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund

Mark Shields, Head of Community Support, Royal Air Forces Association

Brigadier (Ret’d) Martin Nadin OBE, Chief Executive, Scottish Veterans Residences

Ronan’s Walk Across Scotland

Hello all,                                                                                                                                    

My name is Ben Liddall. You may remember me through the 100 day running challenge I did at the start of 2021 to raise funds for the MyNamesDoddie campaign.

This was a great experience for me and while I have lots of plans to do more things like this again in the future I would like to pass the torch to my friend Ronan Ratcliffe who is taking on an absolutely astounding challenge, beginning at the end of May. Here is a brief description from Ronan about what he is doing.

It is really incredible what he aims to do: 

                                                                                                                                                             “Hi there, my name is Ronan, and I’m aiming to walk 140 miles across Scotland at the start of June to raise money for the UK mental health charity ‘Samaritans.’

“The walk will take me from Fort William in the Highlands, across to Glendoll Forest, just north of Dundee. It consists of approximately 40 Munroes (any mountain in Scotland over 3,000ft) including Ben Nevis, and roughly 45,000 feet of elevation.

“I aim to start the walk on the 30th of May and be finished by the 6th or 7th of June. Along the way I will be wild camping about 50% of the time, and staying in Bothies (an unlocked shelter to be used free of charge in mountainous areas) the other half of the time. The route I am taking is almost completely remote, only passing over 2 public roads the whole time.

“If you would like to read into the backstory of why I am doing this, please read through my GoFundMe page below:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/mental-health-awareness-walk-across-scotland

“However, if not, I would really appreciate it if you could donate some money to it, or even just share the fundraiser around. It is my goal to raise £2500 and hopefully with your help I can do that.” 

Thank you very much,

RONAN RATCLIFFE

EWA issues urgent appeal to protect victims of domestic abuse

EDINBURGH WOMEN’S AID REPORTS SURGE IN DEMAND FOR SERVICES

Edinburgh Women’s Aid, which has been providing services and support for women and children who have experienced domestic abuse for nearly 50 years, including refuge accommodation and legal advice, is calling on political leaders to help support the continuation of its services, following a surge in demand over the past two years.

Since the start of the pandemic, the charity has seen an increase in the number of women using their services by almost 10% due to factors including financial insecurity, social distancing and limited access to friends and family, which have made both escaping from an abuser and recovering from abuse even more difficult for women and children.

As a result, EWA, which remained open throughout the pandemic, increased its hours of operation and introduced new ways of supporting women including developing a webchat service and worked in partnership with other agencies to address the increased risks and trauma of those affected by domestic abuse.

They also continue to provide a number of services for children and young people, including outreach support in schools, delivery of the CEDAR, (Children Experiencing Domestic Abuse Recovery), programme, run an employability project, offer access to therapeutic counselling for women, art therapy for children and specialist housing advice. They are also currently running a pilot legal project which enables access to family law solicitors without the need for legal aid.

To enable EWA to continue to protect and keep victims of domestic abuse safe, the charity is calling on all political candidates in the run up to the elections to pledge their commitment to the provision of specialist services for women, children and young people affected by domestic abuse in Edinburgh.


Linda Rodgers, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Women’s Aid, said: “Edinburgh Women’s Aid has been at the heart of delivering services to help protect women and children who have experienced domestic abuse in Edinburgh for almost half a century.

“Our support has been consistently available in the city and we have been learning and developing our services over the years in response to what women and children tell us they need to keep them safe from their abusers.

“During the pandemic we worked tirelessly and flexibly to meet the needs of women and children in Edinburgh. We remained open throughout, increased our hours of operation, developed a new webchat service and worked in partnership with other agencies to address the increased risks and trauma of those affected by domestic abuse. 

“Demand for our services is increasing year on year and the provision of specialist support is vital to help women, children and young people to recover from their experiences.

“We believe it is imperative that the voices of women and children affected by domestic abuse are heard by elected representatives which is why we are asking them to pledge their commitment to the provision of specialist services for women, children and young people affected by domestic abuse in Edinburgh.

“We are also urging people to speak to their local candidates at the door or in meetings, and ask if they have signed our pledge and if they are committed to supporting us to end domestic abuse, as without our services even more women and children’s lives would be seriously at risk in the city.”

Musicians wanted for Make Music Day at Edinburgh City Libraries

  • Calling All Musicians * Calling All Musicians * Calling All Musicians

Tuesday the 21st of June will be Make Music Day and Edinburgh City Libraries are calling out to all musicians, groups, ensembles, choirs, orchestras to join us. The service will be putting together a varied program to fill midsummers day with music:  

‘In 2019 we ran successful programs of events in Central, Morningside, Craigmillar and Stockbridge Libraries (see poster below).

With a range if groups performing Opera to Klezmer, recorder solo’s to the Rolling Hills Chorus. In 2020 and 2021 we were forced online with a curtailed but no less interesting program of events with choirs, instrumentalists and the Libraries staff singing the Make Music Day anthems Bring Me Sunshine and Stand By Me.

Make Music Day started life 40 years ago in 1982.  In France under President Mitterrand’s Socialist Party Maurice Fleuret , was appointed as Director of Music and Dance at the French Ministry of Culture with a responsibility for festivals and events.

He immediately saw that there was a discrepancy in the number of children and adults able to play musical instruments and the numbers who actually participated in any form of music making.             

Fete da la Musique was born. His, Fleuret’s, statement rang loud “Music is everywhere and the concert is nowhere” and mission statement for day became, amateur and professional musician should give of their time freely and that all performances should to be free to attend, forty years on those statements are pretty much the same. 

Year on year the festival grew and not just in France, by the early 90s the festival had become an event in approximately 80 countries and this year that number stands at 126 countries around the world. The 21st of June was chosen as it is normally the longest day of the year or the summer solstice.

If you wished, and some people do,  you could have musical events from the early hours when the sun rises to when it sets late in the evening, and those performances could be anywhere street corners, driveways, concert halls, Libraries, Bandstands, telephone boxes. Anywhere and everywhere, performed and watched by anyone and everyone.      

       

In that spirit, this year we are back and able to welcome musicians into the building to perform and we will welcome audiences to the Library to watch live music.

Please get in touch with us and give us a description of what you do or what you would like to do on the 21st of June, if you are able to link us to any online examples of your previous work, would be useful, but certainly not essential.

* Calling All Musicians * Calling All Musicians * Calling All Musicians!

We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you

0131 242 8050

central.music.library@edinburgh.gov.uk

The Rolling Hills Chorus

Cramond pitbull attack: Eighty year old man arrested

** UPDATE **

An 80-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a six-year-old child being attacked by a dog on Cramond beach which happened around 5pm on Friday, 18 March, 2022.

Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances.

Police are appealing for witnesses after a child was bitten by a dog at about 5pm last Friday (18 March 2022) at Cramond Beach.

A 6-year-old girl was walking on Cramond Beach with 3 older teenage family members when a black Pitbull dog wearing a blue and white collar knocked her over and bit her to her face, body and arms.

The girl required medical attention.

The man in charge of the dog is described as white, about 60 years old, 6 feet tall, average build, white beard, wearing a red baseball cap, a long black coat and blue jeans.

Anyone who recognises the description of this man is urged to call 101 quoting reference 2853 of 18 March 2022.

Scottish election candidates told to step up for pedestrians

Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking is urging candidates in the upcoming elections this May to make walking and wheeling safer and easier, to help enable more people to choose cleaner and healthier ways to travel.  

In ‘A Manifesto for Walking’, Living Streets calls on candidates to pledge to:  

  • End pedestrian deaths and injuries on roads; 
  • Tackle air pollution; 
  • Make school streets safe; 
  • Cut the clutter and make walking easier for everyone.  

A Manifesto for Walking sets out key asks of candidates, including a default 20mph limit in built-up areas, more car-free areas, and clutter-free pavements.  

Latest figures show that pedestrians in Scotland accounted for 37 per cent of fatalities and 34 per cent of serious injuries on built-up roads. Whilst particulate air pollution alone causes almost 2,100 early deaths in Scotland every year.

Roberta Fusco, Interim Director of Policy and Communications, Living Streets said: “People walking and wheeling cause the least amount of road danger or pollution but are often left paying the price on our streets in terms of deaths on our roads and exposure to toxic air. It doesn’t have to be this way. 

“By standing up for pedestrians, candidates can tackle road danger, air pollution and health problems, creating places where people can move and breathe easily.”  

Living Streets is urging voters to call on their local candidates to improve streets for walking.

A Manifesto for Walking 2022 can be downloaded from livingstreets.org.uk/elections