Sacro – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Creating a National Care Service

Community engagement funding to ensure groups are heard

Third sector organisations are being awarded new funding to help ensure as many voices as possible are contributing to the design of the National Care Service.

The funding will facilitate contributions from minority ethnic communities, LGBTI people, children and young people and those with experience of homelessness or the justice system.

Organisations will each receive £5,000 to encourage the communities they work with to have their say on how future community healthcare and social work services should look.

Social Care Minister Maree Todd said: “As we build a National Care Service that best fits the needs of everyone in Scotland, we need to hear from people directly.

“The new National Care Service will set the standards and guidance to support the design and delivery of community healthcare and social work services locally.

“The complexities of getting this right should not be underestimated. People with experience of the current system, whether receiving health and care support or delivering it, are the experts. We need to hear those voices – and those of groups who are often overlooked.

“We know that minority ethnic communities, LGBTI people, children and young people and those with experience of homelessness or the justice system are under-represented in our co-design work to date. We also know that people affected by dementia are a key group we want to hear more from and we will benefit from partnering with an organisation with expertise in this area.

“I am confident the funding to support co-design activity with seldom heard communities will help us shape a system we can all benefit from and be proud of.”

The partner organisations are:

LGBT Health and Wellbeing
Minority Ethnic Carers of People Project (MECOPP)
The Simon Community
Scottish Association for the Care and Resettlement of offenders (SACRO)
Alzheimer Scotland

Your Home: Y People here to help

Bright Choices training opportunity

Dear All,

Bright Choices training Wednesday 28^th September 10-12 at Pilton Community Health Project

Honour abuse or Honour-Based Violence (HBV) is any kind of abusive or violent behaviour against an individual by a member of their family or their community, when the individual is perceived to have ‘transgressed’ the family’s and/or the community’s acceptable codes of behaviour. This training from Bright Choices aims to increase the capacity of professionals in responding to cases and issues of honour based violence within their particular field. Participants will explore the issues of recognising the risks of HBV and how to effectively respond to these. Please see attached leaflets for more information. If you would like to attend the free training please contact Hannah on 0131 5511671 or by emailing hannahkitchen@pchp.org.uk

Next Forum: Understanding Hate Crime Thursday 13^th October 10-12

The next forum will include a session on understanding hate crime from PC Prince Durant. There will be an opportunity to sign up for more in depth training if your organisation wants to become a Third Party Reporting Centre. Venue to be confirmed.

Hate Crime Survey

As part of a project with the other RECs in Scotland ELREC are launching a survey addressed to people who have been victims of hate crime about the kind of support they have received and what additional support they could have benefitted from. This is the link to the survey https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/whymesurvey

Kind regards

Hannah

BrightChoices general leaflet-email

BC-HBV awareness training brief

For professionals leaflet

Hannah Kitchen

Development Worker, Living in Harmony,

Pilton Community Health Project

73 Boswall Parkway, Edinburgh, EH5 2PW

0131 551 1671

hannahkitchen@pchp.org.uk

www.pchp.org.uk

Like us on Facebook for regular updates www.facebook.com/PiltonCommunityHealthProject

Sacro seeks volunteer drivers

Do you enjoy driving? Have you got access to a car? Sacro are currently recruiting volunteer drivers for the Sacro Travel Service. The Travel Service transports people to the State Hospital at Carstairs and prisons predominately throughout the central belt of Scotland. Full training is given and expenses are paid.

For more information please contact Joan Alexander, Travel Service Coordinator, Sacro: email JAlexander@sacro.org.uk or telephone 0131 622 7500.

Toughening up community justice

New Bill will reform the community justice system in Scotland

Plans for a new community justice model, designed to create a stronger community justice system in Scotland, were published by the Scottish Government on Friday.

The Community Justice (Scotland) Bill establishes a new model for community justice which puts local delivery, partnerships and collaboration at its heart.

The Community Justice (Scotland) Bill will:

Place responsibility for local planning and monitoring of community justice services with a defined set of local community justice partners
Place duties on these community justice partners to engage in local strategic planning and be accountable for its success
Develop a national strategy and a performance framework in relation to community justice
Create a national body to provide leadership, promote innovation and provide improvement support where it is required
Create a focus on collaboration – including the opportunity to commission, manage or deliver services nationally where appropriate

Community Safety and Legal Affairs Minister Paul Wheelhouse said: “The Scottish Government is committed to reducing re-offending and securing better outcomes for community justice services.

“Offending is a complex problem and there are well established links between persistent offending and poverty, homelessness, addiction and mental illness. Re-offending creates victims, damages communities and wastes potential.

“We want to work in partnership with organisations and communities to reduce re-offending and to deliver better outcomes for offenders and communities.

“We have engaged extensively with stakeholders in developing this model and share their view that community justice services should be person-centred and evidence-based while making the best use of resources; all of which is reflected in today’s Bill.”

The defined set of local community justice partners includes local authorities, NHS boards, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Health and Social Care Integration joint boards, Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and Scottish Ministers in their role as the Scottish Prison Service.

Tom Halpin, Chief Executive of SACRO said: “Sacro supports the introduction of proposals contained in the Community Justice (Scotland) Bill. This provides a strong opportunity for Scotland’s community justice services to work collaboratively and deliver reduced re-offending and safer communities.

“Working through Community Planning Partnerships, where multi-agency working supports the delivery of joined up services with strong leadership and accountability, is key to transforming the lives of people who are motivated to desist from offending.

“The lived experience of people using Sacro’s services to successfully change their life tells us this Bill is critical in building a socially just and inclusive society for all of Scotland’s communities.”

Councillor Harry McGuigan, COSLA’s Spokesperson for Community Well-being said: “COSLA will study the legislation and continue to work with Scottish Ministers to ensure that the Bill enables a truly local model with improved community justice outcomes at its core.

“Reducing reoffending continues to be a priority for local government and we are working closely with the Scottish Government to ensure a smooth transition to the new model for community justice. We have supported the redesign of community justice throughout the consultation process and we welcome the introduction of this Bill.”

More funding to help reduce reoffending

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson has announced a near £1 million funding package for three leading voluntary organisations working to reduce reoffending in Scotland.

The funding will allow Apex Scotland, SACRO and Families Outside to continue to deliver a range of specialist services in 2015/16 for offenders and their families, helping to stop the cycle of reoffending.

The work of the three organisations includes targeted action to address underlying issues which fuel crime, help with employment, rehabilitation and support to ensure family links are maintained so that the children of offenders do not go down the wrong path in life.

Families Outside estimate that 27,000 children lose a parent to imprisonment each year.

Last month, the Justice Secretary announced that plans for a new women’s prison at Inverclyde will not go ahead as he wants to pursue a bolder, more ambitious approach for Scotland.

Today, Mr Matheson confirmed that a series of local engagement events will take place across the country next month to allow all those with an interest to give their views on the future of female offending as part of an on-going consultation on delivering a more radical plan for Scotland.

Speaking following a meeting with the Families Outside charity who received a 15 per cent increase in funding, Mr Matheson said: “When it comes to the justice system, we must be smarter with the choices we make and be more sophisticated in the way in which we deal with offenders in Scotland.

“We need to do everything we can to break the cycle of reoffending and end the revolving door to our prisons which sees low level offenders going in and out of prisons time and time again. Scotland can do better and we can be bolder in our approach.

“We need to look at the wider picture of offending, ensuring for example, that links to the family and community can be maintained, whilst targeted work is undertaken to address the specific issue which is fuelling the crime such as alcohol, drugs or mental health issues.

“The three organisations we are helping with funding today are doing some fantastic work to break the cycle of offending through targeted intervention and I am pleased to announce this support for them,

“Whilst it is for the Courts to decide who receives a custodial sentence, I want to ensure we are providing the best possible support to offenders to help turn their lives around.”

Philip Dunion, Director of Finance, Apex Scotland said: “Apex Scotland is delighted to receive this award from the Scottish Government. As a national charity this will enable us to continue to be at the forefront of policy development in relation to (ex)offenders and those at risk of offending, contributing to the aims of a fairer and safer Scotland.

“In particular we will be able to continue our drive to finding innovative solutions for our service users and to underpin our high quality service provision with a clear focus on evidence of benefit to both our service users and society as a whole.”

Tom Halpin, Chief Executive of Sacro said: “I welcome the Justice Secretary’s announcement of funding to voluntary organisations to help reduce reoffending. This funding from Scottish Government will change people’s lives for the better. It will enable Sacro to deliver direct services to vulnerable people across Scotland who are drawn into the justice system, often through issues associated with inequality and deprivation.

“Sacro’s partnership working is focussed on supporting positive change among those who find themselves in the justice system. It is by addressing the underlying issues that lead people into offending that we will achieve long-lasting and positive outcomes for individuals and their communities.”

Prof Nancy Loucks, Chief Executive of Families Outside, said: “Families Outside is very grateful for the award of funding from the Scottish Government. The impact of imprisonment on the children and families left behind is significant and enduring. It cuts across a wide range of issues including physical and mental health, housing, poverty, victimisation, substance misuse, child and adolescent learning and development, and crime prevention.

“We are pleased to be able to continue this work with the support of the Scottish Government, reaching vulnerable families who are often otherwise unidentified and unsupported.”

Lottery cash to support victims of honour abuse

A unique project supporting victims of honour abuse within Edinburgh’s black and minority ethnic communities is to receive £786,814 from the Big Lottery Fund, it was announced today.

Over four years, the Bright Choices project, will support 130 families across Edinburgh affected by honour abuse – which are violent crimes thought justified to protect or restore the ‘honour’ of a family.

Developed in consultation with Police Scotland, the project is a new partnership between Sacro, Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council and Multi-Cultural Family Base.

In a recent survey of 300 Edinburgh residents, carried out by Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council, 63% of people stated that honour abuse was a part of their family’s belief system while 52% said that “honour” would prevent them reporting a crime to the police.

In Edinburgh and the Lothians, a sharp rise in honour abuse has been identified both by the Police and by local voluntary organisations. Lothian & Borders Police dealt with 41 such incidents in 2012, compared with 31 in the previous two years, although only seven of these resulted in charges being made, an indication of the difficulties and sensitivities involved in investigating such cases. Reported incidents, however, are widely accepted as being only a fraction of the actual levels of abuse occurring within communities.

Through this partnership project, each organisation will play its only distinct role in raising awareness of the impact of honour abuse within communities, as well as providing counselling and mediation for families and therapeutic play for children.

Sacro’s Ian McDonough said: “We will use restorative and mediation approaches to dealing with individual cases which have not resulted in formal action such as criminal prosecution but present indications that honour abuse is an actual or potential issue. Restorative approaches focus on repairing harm done to individuals and relationships by assisting people who have caused harm to acknowledge this and make amends and assisting those harmed to have reparation made to them.”

Steve Gowenlock from Multi-Cultural Family Base, said: ‘We will offer one-to-one support using a counselling skills approach with the aim of helping an individual to make informed choices about their options. Family and group work for children, young people or adults will be offered aimed at improving family communication and functioning while play based approaches will be used with children.”

Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council’s Ekta Marwaha added: “Our role within this project will be to provide community engagement and an extensive outreach strategy. As an organisation our focus will be to raise awareness, provide initial advice, liaise with and provide training for professionals, community groups and organisations on the impact of ‘honour abuse’ and highlight the best methodologies for intervention.”

Announcing today’s award, Big Lottery Fund Scotland Chair Maureen McGinn, said: “This project represents a new approach to helping black and minority ethnic families affected by honour abuse. At the Big Lottery Fund we are keen to support such an intervention which brings together the skills, experience and knowledge of a range of partner organisations. Working in partnership, they’ll engage with, and support families at as early a stage possible whilst raising awareness and tackling this complex subject matter head on.”

SACRO is just one of 11 groups receiving funding, totalling £6,599,118, from the Big Lottery Fund’s Investing in Communities fund. Vulnerable older people, young carers and people facing barriers to work are amongst thousands of Scots to benefit from the latest Big Lottery Fund awards.

The other groups receiving funding today are:

Albyn Housing Society Limited £857,950

This project will provide financial advice to 2,500 tenants living in rural areas. It will work in partnership with Lochalsh and Skye Housing Association, Lochaber Housing Association, Cairn Housing Association and Pentland Housing Association.

Cothrom Limited £503,635

This project will grow and diversify the organisation ‘ReStore’ training service and social enterprise on South Uist. ReStore delivers training and personal development through local community recycling and reuse activities.

CSV £343,682

This project will support vulnerable and isolated elderly people living in the Forth Valley helping them maintain their independence in their home. Volunteers will provide a handyman service, a health and safety DIY house check, befriending and support in attending social events.

DEAP Limited £548,494

This project will provide practical and emotional support to care experienced young people, aged between 15 and 25, living in Dundee. It will offer a range of activities aimed at helping them to live independently while improving their chances of gaining employment or continuing in education.

DEAP Limited £457,874

This project delivered in Arbroath, Brechin, Montrose and Forfar will address barriers to effective job seeking and entering employment. The project will provide support to improve job seeking skills including training for online job seeking, taster placements and job brokering.

The Ecology Centre £920,849

This group will be able to relocate their existing centre to a new sustainable building. Once complete the centre will continue to provide much needed education space, meeting rooms and office space for local organisations.

ENABLE Scotland £309,939

This project will support children who are yet to receive a diagnosis for their condition, or who have recently been diagnosed. The project will also support families to adjust and develop ways of coping and come to terms with a diagnosis.

Fife Young Carers £531,721

This project will support young carers to cope with the demands of their school work and their caring role. It will also help them to make positive choices about their futures when they leave school.

The Machan Trust £481,127

This project will provide breakfast clubs and an after school/weekend play and sports activity programmes for children aged five to nine. Families will also benefit from healthy eating workshops.

North Glasgow Housing Association Ltd £857,033

This project, run in partnership with Greater Easterhouse Money Advice Project, will improve financial skills, develop knowledge of key financial products, and provide participants with a personal financial plan. Group sessions will focus on topics such as welfare reform, budgeting, and affordable credit.

Website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Twitter: @BIGScotland #biglf
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFundScotland