- Area:
- Scotland
- Programme:
- Investing In Communities
- Release date:
- 23 2 2012
Additional support is being made available for vulnerable families and young carers as the Big Lottery Fund today (Thursday 23 February) announces over £4 million to nine community projects in Scotland.
Amongst those to benefit are 150 young carers from Helensburgh and Lomond who will receive the support of a volunteer mentor as well as respite breaks to help them cope with their caring responsibilities. Thanks to an award of £389,727, Helensburgh & Lomond Carers will work with young carers like 18 year old Daniel MacTaggart.
Daniel says: “I am overjoyed that the funding for young carers has been awarded because of the many benefits it will bring young carers like me in the Helensburgh and Lomond area. It means a dedicated support service will be available for young carers where they can go and talk to each other and have a place to have some fun and help in building self confidence. Having two Young Carers workers hired to support us will be great because we will have place to go and chat about any problems.”
The project will include volunteer mentor support, workshops and group work, homework groups, counselling sessions, weekend respite, social events and sporting activities.
Eileen McCrory, Manager, Helensburgh & Lomond Carers, welcomed the award. She said: “This is a huge achievement for the organisation, and more importantly, great news for young carers in Helensburgh and Lomond. We look forward to working alongside our partners and the wider community to provide a support service to ensure we make a positive difference to the lives of young carers in the area. Our appreciation goes to the Big Lottery Fund, which has recognised the value of and invested in this new initiative.”
Developing closer family relationships among parents and their children is the focus of a £551,200 award to East Ayrshire Council. The EA Positive Play project will provide a range of positive play opportunties delivered across East Ayrshire in partnership with community organisations.
Councillor Kathy Morrice, Spokesperson for Improving Community Health and Wellbeing for East Ayrshire Council, said: “East Ayrshire Council is delighted with this five year award from the Big Lottery Fund. It is a fantastic endorsement of our approach to working with and for our most vulnerable communities and families. The award will ensure that we continue to deliver our very successful community based early years and family play interventions.
She continued: “EA Positive Play has clearly demonstrated that play can improve relationship building, develop resilience and strengthen connections within our communities and the funding will allow us to develop bespoke family and group initiatives. These initiatives will be delivered by a dynamic partnership between the Council’s Neighbourhood Services and Educational and Social Services teams.”
Enterprise Childcare today receives £271,559 to provide parents and carers across Inverclyde with training courses, parenting groups and adult and child workshops that will improve family relationships.
Ann Walsh, Manager, Enterprise Childcare, said: “We have had a tremendous response from the participants from all the courses we have developed and delivered over the past three years and we are delighted to be able to continue with our work in this area. We know from our external evaluation and from parents and carers that our delivery model works. Building genuine relationships with parents and carers is a key strength in our approach and continued support from the Big Lottery Fund will strengthen these links further over the next three years.”
Supporting children and young people affected by domestic abuse is the focus of a £282,022 award to Clydebank Women's Aid. The project will help to address issues such as failing school attendance and lack of confidence, and will bring children together at a youth club to socialise in a safe and secure environment.
A spokesperson for Clydebank Women’s Aid Collective said: “On behalf of the young people we work with we are delighted to receive this funding to develop this unique person centred support offered to children and young people experiencing domestic abuse in the area. Young people have said loud and clear that they want this support to be made available.”
Announcing the awards totalling £4,178,298, Jackie Killeen, Big Lottery Fund Scotland Director, said: “Today we are investing over four million pounds to provide additional support for those families and individuals who need it most. For young carers like Daniel the funding will provide the respite which is often so desperately needed whilst in a full time caring role. For some of the most marganised families it will provide a focus for improving parent and child relationships and will support the forgotten children and young people who are affected by domestic abuse.”
Other groups receiving funding today are:
Fife Employment Access Trust
Award - £687,090
This project will benefit adults from Fife who have severe and enduring mental health conditions and experience multiple barriers to returning to or entering the work place. Over the next five years the project will provide 300 inpatients and outpatients of Fife's three psychiatric hospitals with ongoing medical treatment, coping strategies and training to help them gain qualifications.
Forth Sector
Award - £1 million
The 'The Forth Bridge' project will support people with mental health issues, furthest from the labour market, to address their barriers to work, access mainstream job seeking services and access jobs in social businesses.The project will acquire and refurbish a disused building in the Craigmillar area of Edinburgh into which Forth Sector will relocate its three social firms.
Lothian Centre for Inclusive Living
Award - £414,788
This group will support disabled adults and young people to move closer to the labour market. Delivered by trainers with disabilities who have secured employment themselves, the courses will offer the chance to learn new skills and explore the individual's options for independent living, including employment, education and training.
St Andrew's Family Support Project
Award - £340,618
This project will improve and develop the parenting skills and the family relationships of young, disadvantaged, lone parents and their families within Dundee and surrounding areas. Targeted areas include Lardour, Ardlen, Ardler, Balgay, Fintry, Douglas, Menzieshill and Blackness.
The Glenkens Community and Arts Trust Ltd
Award - £241,294
This project will support older people to sustain their independence at home, improve their well being and become more socially connected in their community. Disadvantaged older people in the nine communities that make up the Glenkens, will receive support with transport and a programme of activities including IT training, arts workshops and a oral history intergenerational project.
Further Information
For more details contact the Big Lottery Fund Press Scotland Office
0141 242 1458 or 07789 033457
BIG advice line: 0300 123 7110 Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Notes to Editors
- The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 46% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
- BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. BIG was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £26 billion has now been raised and more than 330,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
- The Scotland Committee, led by Chair Maureen McGinn, has been making Big Lottery Fund decisions on Scottish projects since March 2007. As well as taking devolved decisions on Lottery spending, the Committee has and will continue to play a strategic role in the future direction of BIG in Scotland.
- The Big Lottery Fund is investing in Scotland’s communities through its Investing in Communities portfolio as well as the small grants schemes Awards for All and 2014 Communities.
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