As Loneliness Awareness Week begins today, a new campaign launched by UK Government Loneliness Minister Mims Davies is helping to tackle the stigma of loneliness and encourage people to speak out. Continue reading UK Government launches ‘Let’s Talk Loneliness’ campaign
Food redistribution charity FareShare Central and South East, in partnership with Cyrenians, is seeking new charities and community groups across the city that could benefit from fresh, in-date surplus food. Continue reading Edinburgh charity seeks local projects solving loneliness with food
PUBLIC URGED TO GET BEHIND LOCAL COMMUNITY GROUPS SHORTLISTED IN THE PEOPLE’S PROJECTS
Five local community groups are set to have their inspiring work spotlighted on STV as they compete for a crucial share of £3 million in National Lottery funding. One of them is Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, who are bidding for a new minibus.
The five have all been shortlisted as part of this year’s The People’s Projects – a partnership between The National Lottery Community Fund and STV, which gives the public a unique say in where National Lottery money should go in their local area.
All five will have the opportunity to showcase their work on prime time TV as they go head to head in a public vote to help them make an extraordinary difference to their community.
Now in its 14th year, The People’s Projects celebrates some of the incredible projects The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players to communities across the UK, has supported over the past year.
In total, 95 community-based groups are now shortlisted across the UK. In each region, the three with the most public votes will receive grants of up to £50,000. This will help them to continue their work to bring people together, build stronger communities and make a difference to people’s lives. The entire amount up for grabs across the UK is a life-changing £3 million.
Voting opens at 9am on Monday 1 April at www.thepeoplesprojects.org.uk.
Details of the shortlisted projects:
STV News at Six will feature the projects over five nights, starting on Monday 1st April across STV’s transmission area in Edinburgh and the East when the Benarty Forum project by Benarty Community Forum in Lochgelly will be featured.
If successful, this community group will receive £17,346 to expand into the vacant property which is next door to their community shop. They will then be able to buy the necessary equipment and furniture to open a community café for local people. Volunteers will receive training and will be put through the necessary qualifications in food hygiene and First Aid Training.
On Tuesday it will be the turn of the A community continues to be connected by a shiny new bus project by Drylaw Telford Community Association SCIO, based in Edinburgh.
They hope to receive £34,794 for a project to allow the centre to buy an accessible mini bus which will be used by a variety of local groups, schools and organisations. This will include young people, people who have difficulty walking, wheelchair users and housebound older people to attend groups at the centre. The mini bus will also be made available to local partner organisations to help them transport their members.
Wednesday it will be the Edinburgh Diwali project by Edinburgh Diwali. They are competing for £50,000 to expand the annual Edinburgh Diwali Festival bringing together people of all ages, backgrounds, nationalities and religions from across Edinburgh to celebrate together through music, dancing, feasting and fireworks. This free Festival promotes friendship and understanding across cultures and over 1000 Edinburgh primary school children will participate in workshops and activities.
Thursday’s programme will feature Kidz n Kin project by Kidz-Eco CIC, based in Livingston, who hope to receive £45,604. This community group hope to use the funds to open an Early Years Community Space in The Centre, Livingston. Working with local partners including NHS and West Lothian Council they will be able to provide pre-birth and early years support to hundreds of families weekly through classes, activities, meeting space, play area and café.
The final project to be shown on Friday will be A Space to Play project by Bonnyrigg After School Club, based in Bonnyrigg. If successful, they will receive £50,000to move into a central location in Bonnyrigg from which they can expand their early years nursery service to help meet demand locally. The building will also be used as a community centre to allow a variety of other groups and organisations to make use of the space and facilities.
Steven Ladurantaye, STV’s Head of News and Current Affairs, said: “The People’s Projects can make a real difference to communities and lives across STV thanks to funding from The National Lottery and we are looking forward to highlighting the incredible shortlisted projects and groups from across Scotland. All you have to do is tune into STV News at Six and vote for your favourite project.”
Martin Cawley, Scotland Director at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “As the largest funder of community activity in the UK, we are proud to support groups that are led by the vision, determination and drive of local people to strengthen communities.
“In previous years we have seen a wide range of successful projects, from a café supporting young carers to animal-assisted therapy for people living with dementia and the development of a bee-friendly orchard. The People’s Projects is a chance for you to have your say on how National Lottery funding can help your community to thrive.”
Since 2005 around £42 million has been awarded through this partnership to 960 good causes across the UK.
Voting closes at noon on Monday 15 April 2019.
People can vote once per region and will need an email address or mobile phone number to vote*. For Ts & Cs please visit www.thepeoplesprojects.org.uk
New research by Rotary Great Britain and Ireland, shows that almost HALF of the adults in Britain say that they are lonely and 41% say that they feel most lonely in the evenings when they get home from work. Continue reading Two thirds of lonely people put the TV on for company
Delivering the social isolation strategy.
The membership of a new group to advise on addressing social isolation has been announced.
In December 2018 the Scottish Government launched its first strategy focused on social isolation and loneliness in society, backed by £1 million of funding.
A range of public, third sector organisations and experts who helped develop the strategy will now put it into action.
Minister for Older People and Equalities Christina McKelvie announced the members of the group on a visit to Dunbar Grammar School’s ‘Cross Generation’ intergenerational project. This project has been running at the school for 16 years and includes monthly sessions for lunches, day trips and a film club with older members of the local community.
Minister for Older People and Equalities Christina McKelvie said: “As one of the first governments in the world to address the issue of social isolation in society, we want to promote positive attitudes and tackle the stigma associated with loneliness.
“It can affect any one, at any stage, or from any walk of life and that’s why we invited charities like Youthlink Scotland to be members of the group. The membership of the new group has valuable experience to help with this important work.
“Projects such as ‘Cross Generation’ are exactly the kind of activity which can help beat loneliness. It was great to see the interaction between the generations, both learning from each other and enjoying each other’s company. Contact between different generations can help build understanding, strengthen communities and allow the sharing of invaluable skills, experiences and perspectives.”
Alison Clyde, director of Generations Working Together, who help organise the ‘Cross Generation’ group said: “We were thrilled that the Minister could visit an intergenerational project herself to see it in action.
“The projects bringing younger and older people together are beneficial for both generations. They also tackle loneliness and isolation as well as being highly beneficial for all the community.”
Full membership of the National Implementation Group includes:
Scottish Government
COSLA
Voluntary Health Scotland
Befriending Networks
Campaign to End Loneliness
Transport Scotland
Architecture and Place Scotland
Age Scotland
Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Youthlink Scotland
NHS Health Scotland
Generations Working Together
sportScotland
Read the social isolation and loneliness strategy, A Connected Scotland.
More about the Generations Working Together
Slightly ironic, this: see this morning’s earlier post about the LOOPS service being forced to close, and previous posts about the impact that Health & Social Care funding cuts are likely to have on older, isolated and vulnerable people in Edinburgh.
There’s the rhetoric – and then there’s the reality – Ed
Nobody needs to feel alone this Christmas
Emergency Support
Edinburgh Crisis Centre
(open 24/7) 0808 801 0414
www.edinburghcrisiscentre.org.uk
Social Care Direct 0800 731
6969 for out of hours/holidays.
During office hours call 0131 200 2324
Scottish Domestic Violence Helpline – 0800 027 1234
If you are in danger, call 999 for emergency services.
Someone to talk to:
Samaritans – 116 123 (24/7)
www.samaritans.org
Samaritans local line – 0131
221 9999 (9am-10pm)
Breathing Space 0800 83 85 87 0800 (open 6pm – 2am)
https://breathingspace.scot/
CALM – 0800 58 58 58 (for men, 5pm-12am)
www.thecalmzone.net
The Mix – 0808 808 4994
(under 25s)
www.themix.org.uk
Food banks:
Trussel Trust
The Pilton branch will be closed on Wednesday 2nd January.
Full location, days and time for each foodbank centre can be found at: http://edinburghnw.foodbank.org.uk
Edinburgh City Mission at Granton Parish Church, Edinburgh
Closed on Tuesday 1st January.
Pilton Community Health Project also produced this useful support guide:
Ramblers urge people to join group walks to guard against festive loneliness Continue reading One in seven people in Scotland feel lonelier at Christmas
Scotland has become one of the first countries in the world to develop a national strategy to deal with the serious problem of social isolation.
To kick start the strategy, Minister for Older People and Equalities, Christina McKelvie said the strategy would be backed by £1 million over the next two years to support and expand innovative projects and approaches to bring people together.
Improvements to health and social care, more accessible transport and investment in digital connectivity will all help to create a Scotland where individuals and communities are more connected.
Actions within the strategy include:
Launching the strategy at Bridgend Farmhouse, a community-owned charitable organisation in south Edinburgh which provides space for learning, eating and exercising, Ms McKelvie said: “One in ten people in Scotland report often feeling lonely.
“In today’s fast paced world, with technological advancements, people can sometimes feel overwhelmed and unable to cope with rapid changes in society. This can lead to people withdrawing and losing touch with friends and family.
“People often feel afraid to admit they are lonely or isolated yet these feelings can affect anyone at any age, or stage, or walk of life. It is known that social isolation and loneliness can have a significant impact on a person’s physical and mental wellbeing which is why we are tackling this issue with a preventative approach allowing loneliness and social isolation to be treated as a public health issue.
“This is just the beginning of work we are doing to tackle loneliness but we can’t do it alone. It is the responsibility of all of us as individuals and communities, and within the public sector, local authorities and businesses to reach out with kindness and build a country where all of us feel welcome within our communities and valued as an important part of society.”
A Connected Scotland: Tackling social isolation and loneliness
Conservative Health spokesman Miles Briggs MSP has welcomed the announcement.
Charities such as Vintage Vibes, based in Edinburgh, and Craigshill Good Neighbourhood Network, based in West Lothian, do exceptional work tackling social isolation and loneliness in Lothian.
Miles Briggs, Scottish Conservative Lothian MSP, said: “Social isolation and loneliness is very prevalent across Edinburgh and the Lothian’s and it can affect anyone, but is particularly common amongst elderly people.
“The Scottish Conservative Loneliness Action Plan puts forward practical measures to tackle loneliness and social isolation.
“Loneliness can have a serious impact on peoples mental health, so steps to bring people together are incredibly important.
“Whilst many of us will be spending Christmas with friends and family, not everyone is so fortunate.
“I encourage everyone to think about what they can do to help, whether it is a visiting an elderly friend, calling in on an older neighbour who lives alone or inviting an older person round for a coffee or meal over the Christmas period.”
It’s also been welcomed by services charity Poppyscotland. Poppyscotland Chief Executive Mark Bibbey said: “Social isolation has been reported to affect at least 15 per cent of the Scottish ex-Service community and we need to break the stigma that surrounds this topic.
“We must then build the required practical support for our Armed Forces community to become more connected, and finally align policy, strategy, funding and resources so that our Armed Forces community receives the support they need and so rightly deserve.
“We welcome the new strategy and are particularly pleased to see that a number of aspects of our Break, Build and Align campaign have been included. We would like to thank the Scottish Government and a range of MSPs who have helped ensure the voices of veterans and members of our Armed Forces community have been heard, and that their specific needs have been recognised within the final strategy.”
A National Implementation Board is now to be established by the Scottish Government and Poppyscotland has expressed their interest in being involved and supporting the implementation of the strategy.
Heartwarming gesture from The Prentice Centre
Despite Christmas Day being only six weeks away, more than three quarters of Edinburgh residents still don’t know how they plan on spending the day, as a new survey reveals that a quarter of us feel anxious and worry about making plans for the festive period. Continue reading Charities join forces to make it a happier Christmas for older people
