- Area:
- Scotland
- Programme:
- Investing In Communities
- Release date:
- 23 2 2012
Additional support will be made available for vulnerable families and individuals with mental health concerns as the Big Lottery Fund today (THURS 23 FEB) announces over £1 million to community projects in Dundee and Fife.
The Fife Employment Access Trust and the St Andew’s Family Support Project are amongst nine groups from across Scotland today sharing in funding totalling £4,178,298.
Annnouncing the awards Big Lottery Fund Scotland Director, Jackie Killeen, said: “In these difficult times it can sometimes be too easy to forget about others who may be struggling. The projects receiving funding today remind us that families and individuals sometimes need that extra help to overcome some of the challenges that they face in their daily lives. In Fife the focus is on giving people with mental health concerns the confidence to consider employment. Meanwhile in Dundee it is young parents who will receive that additional support to help improve their parenting skills and self esteem.”
The Fife Employment Access Trust today receives an award of £687,090 for its Employ your Mind project which will support people in their recovery from mental ill health and help them work towards gaining employment. 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. Visits to local employers will also be arranged and work experience opportunities available for those who feel ready to take on a new job.
Duncan Mitchell, General Manager, Fife Employment Access Trust, said: “Numerous studies over many years have shown that people with disabilities and those with serious mental illnesses have a substantially higher unemployment rate, despite the fact that most of these people have both the desire and the capacity to work.
“Through our core work over the past few years, we identified a clear gap in the delivery of employability support services to inpatients and outpatients of Fife’s three psychiatric hospitals. During this time we worked closely with colleagues at NHS Fife Occupational Therapy and Clinical Psychology to combine our strengths and specialisms to produce what may be a unique approach, and is certainly targeted at a group of people who are usually completed overlooked in this regard.“
Norma Clark, Lead Occupational Therapist, NHS Fife, added: “This project brings together the specialties of occupational therapy, clinical psychology and employability experts – it is a project that will have a significant impact on peoples’ lives.”
Meanwhile in Dundee young lone parents and their families are to benefit from an award of £340,618 to the St Andrew's Family Support Project. This will enable the group to provide 300 young women with parental support and guidance to help them develop their parenting skills and improve their confidence. The project will also provide opportunities for parents to take part in personal and social development activites including training in first aid, food hygiene, beauty therapy and hairdressing, as well as encouraging interactive play with their children.
Rev Dr Janet Foggie, Chairperson, St Andrew's Family Support Project, said: “We are delighted to receive this award from the Big Lottery Fund. It will help us to support young parents and their children to overcome the difficulties they may face, to develop their self esteem, to build their confidence and to promote their own well-being, mentally, spiritually, and physically. We do this through creating a safe environment where parents and children are free to play together, to do craft, and to have new experiences, going on outings and learning new skills.
“Over 80% of our families come from areas of multiple deprivation in Dundee and we can provide support on a number of areas including housing, finance, debt and healthy eating to enable parents to help themselves and be good advocates for their children.”
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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