- Area:
- Scotland
- Programme:
- Investing In Communities
- Release date:
- 3 10 2012
Young adults with learning disabilities and adults with addiction issues will benefit from almost £1.5 million in grants awarded today from The Big Lottery Fund Scotland.
Announcing the funding, Big Lottery Fund Scotland Chair, Maureen McGinn, said: “Our Investing in Communities programme tackles need and addresses inequalities. The Windmills Cafe project in Lanarkshire helps prepare young adults with learning disabilities for employment. Inverclyde’s SmartStart venture provides support to adults with substance misuse, helping them on their road to recovery. That’s why I am delighted that today’s funding will allow these community projects to expand their valuable work and help these groups towards healthy and active lives.”
Windmills Lanarkshire Ltd's 'Windmills Cafe' supports and trains young adults with learning disabilities; providing them with independent living skills and helping them secure work placements, volunteering positions and paid employment. Thanks to a grant of £749,063, more young adults will benefit as the project can move its catering operation into larger, more centrally located premises. Windmills Cafe’s training programme includes mentoring, work experience in and out-with the cafe, as well as employability and catering qualifications.
Mary Cartwright, Chair of Windmills Cafe, said: “This is a tremendous opportunity for young people with learning disabilities. Windmills Cafe increases the chance for them to develop new skills, start accredited training, meet other people both in work and socially, and to showcase their abilities to the wider community. The project also demonstrates to employers the remarkable contribution young people with learning disabilities can make to a workplace.”
Mark, one of the trainees said: "Windmills Cafe is great. It gives you a talent to take to other places, gives you a taste of work and lets you meet people, some new and some you haven't seen for ages.” The young people said: “This lets us take Windmills to the next level. We are now able to move to new premises in Motherwell town centre with more space and now more people can work here. The town centre location is very important as we feel that our cafe is now able to compete with other businesses. This is the real deal.”
Adults in the Inverclyde area, affected by drug and alcohol misuse, will be given the support they need for their road to recovery. A grant of £688,691 to Moving On Inverclyde’s ‘SmartStart’ project will go towards group activities that will improve confidence, self image, communication and presentation skills. Working within the community, the project will help adults with addiction issues make positive changes and assist them towards employment, training or education.
Eleanor Robertson, Chair, Moving on Inverclyde said: “We are delighted to receive this grant from the Big Lottery Fund Scotland. For over ten years, Moving On has shown that recovery from substance misuse is a reality. This programme will help us extend this message further by providing much needed support to Inverclyde’s communities to help combat the area’s longstanding drugs problem. By taking the service to where it’s needed we believe a significant impact will be made in the lives of many individuals and families affected and lead to greater levels of self-determination and more prosperous futures.”
Lisa (name has been changed) is about to complete the"green" phase of the Moving On programme before joining the project’s peer support group. With a background of care from childhood until the age of 19, Lisa was 15 years old when she developed aheroin addiction that ultimately led to crime, courts, loss of children and multiple family problems. Today, aged 28, Lisa isclean from all illicit drugs, is reducing her methadone intake andhas positive relationships in her life. She issuccessfully pursuing custody of her children and is studying biomedical sciences at a local college.
Today’s funding is part of a package of four Big Lottery Fund Scotland, Investing in Community grants totalling £2,361,488 million.
Further information
Frances Chisholm, Press Team Scotland: 0141 242 1458
Public Enquiries 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 40% 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. The Fund 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 £25 billion over £28 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
- The Scotland Committee has been making Big Lottery Fund decisions on Scottish projects since March 2007. As well as taking devolved decisions on Lottery spending, the Committee, led by Chair, Maureen McGinn, 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, Investing in Ideas, Communities and Families and 2014 Communities.
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