Three charities in Edinburgh have been awarded more than £50,000 in funding to support their work in tackling the impact of alcohol harm, the Scotch Whisky Action Fund (SWAF) has announced.
Space @ the Broomhouse Hub, Lothian Association of Youth Clubs (LAYC) and Fast Forward are all being supported by the Fund in 2023, with each running dedicated projects to support young people in the Edinburgh area.
Space @ the Broomhouse Hub is a youth club supporting young people in the Broomhouse area of Edinburgh. Their Youth Befriending Project is aimed at helping children affected by parental addiction, including drugs and alcohol, by pairing them with mentors who can offer guidance, emotional support and respite through fun activities. The Scotch Whisky Action Funding is contributing to a city-wide extension of the service, increasing its capacity by 50%.
Nicola Campbell, Youth Befriending Services Manager, said: “Over the past decade we have helped hundreds of children and young people increase their confidence, engage in school and build positive relationships with others.
“Our service provides two hours of support a week where the children and young people get the opportunity to explore new places and engage in a variety of fun activities. In the last year many young people engaging in the service have shown improvements in their emotional health, education and engaging in their local community.
“If you have a few hours a week to spare to help a young person realise their potential then we would love to hear from you. Our volunteers come from many different walks of life and bring with them a variety of knowledge and skills. Befriending is a very rewarding experience for both the volunteer and young person.”
LAYC is in its second year of funding, and is using the grant from the Scotch Whisky Action Fund to roll out training in alcohol awareness for youth workers across the city. The workshops, which are expected to benefit 45 trainees throughout the year, are aimed at ensuring youth workers feel confident in supporting young people who are at risk of misusing alcohol or are living in households where alcohol use is an issue.
Fast Forward is in its third year of funding from the Scotch Whisky Action Fund, and will be continuing the rollout of its project Own It!, a programme to deliver 400 hours of direct training in alcohol related harm, other risk-taking behaviours, and peer-education to young people in schools, youth clubs and employability groups.
Allie Cherry-Byrnes, Chief Executive of Fast Forward said: “We were delighted to secure a third year of funding from the Scotch Whisky Action Fund to continue our Own It! project.
“This ongoing support will enable us to continue to develop the project, working with more groups of young people to raise awareness of the impact of alcohol and alcohol related harms by designing and creating innovative peer education resources.
“Ongoing work with partners like Edinburgh College, whose students supported the design of digital games in year 2, will enable us to continue to develop the programme to add the media of music, photography, animation, theatre, digital games and dance.”
Dame Joan Stringer, who chairs the awards panel, said: “All of the organisations selected to receive funding are doing important work to raise awareness of alcohol harm and support those impacted.
“We look forward to seeing the outcomes of their work, and are pleased to be supporting them this year.”