Communities Mental Health & Wellbeing Funding Recipients
In 2021, the Scottish Government launched a new Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, with £15 million of funding allocated to support adults’ mental health and wellbeing in communities across Scotland.
Nearly £700,000 was awarded to 47 groups and organisations across Argyll & Bute in the first year of the funding. Below you will find more information on all successful grant recipients.
Nearly £700,000 was awarded to 47 groups and organisations across Argyll & Bute in the first year of the funding. Below you will find more information on all successful grant recipients.
Albatross Arts CIC - £33596.06
This project will see Albatross Arts partner with 4 local organisations to deliver 2 x 6 week creative workshops to participants. Workshops will be delivered both online & face to face & will provide a platform for connecting people & a catalyst to initiate dialogues around shared experiences. Partners include a local mental health & wellbeing group, an Autism group, Alzheimer Scotland & parents utilising a toddler support group.
Argyll & the Isles Coast & Countryside Trust - £16274.06
Argyll & the Isles Coast & Countryside Trust will work with other local organisations and services to provide safe, social opportunities for people to reconnect with nature and each other and focus on creative activities that help aid recovery by providing self-management skills and peer support. 54 sessions of outdoor activities are planned, with the aim of reconnecting people after the prolonged isolation of lockdown and resulting social anxiety. Each session will be led by trained leaders and typically last for 5 hours.
Argyll and Bute Rape Crisis - £11376.06
Funding will be used to develop a Partnership Therapeutic Craft Programme using group work in four different locations across Argyll and Bute. Primary beneficiaries would be people who are with hard-to-reach groups working in tandem with their support organisations. The groups would run for 10 weeks in each location, each session lasting 2-2.5 hours and participants would undertake a variety of crafts and art projects. It is estimated a minimum of 12 will attend each group, making 48 participants in total.
Argyll Wellbeing Hub - £30626
Funding will be used for the delivery of various mental health and wellbeing peer support groups for; women, men, bereavement, menopause, nature walks, intergenerational drop-ins and the LGBTI community. It will allow an increase in the activities offered and promotion of the service creating an estimated increase of 40% in the number of people benefiting from this service.
Autumn Voices - £6412.06
The groups aims are to support people over 60 yrs, grow old with opportunities for getting involved in creative activities that increase wellbeing & breakdown feelings of isolation & negatively around ageing with plans to offer 11 x creative workshop sessions with a variety of content from different creative practitioners on a monthly basis. Workshops will be free to participants & carers, & will be led by supportive & encouraging creative practitioners.
Calum's Cabin - £20162.06
Funding will be used to provide three, one hourly on-line group mindfulness sessions per week for the next twelve months. These sessions developed in response to lockdown, commenced in June 2020 as a new way to offer support to families struggling to deal with the cancer diagnosis of their child. The sessions were extended to wider family members such as grandparents, to teenage cancer patients over the age of 18 and to volunteers and staff, many whom had felt isolated during lockdown.
Cowal Elderly Befrienders - £14186.9
The project is aimed at a client group of age 65+ (male only) to reduce social isolation in a group who are known to be hard to reach. The project will reduce and prevent poor mental health and social isolation which in turn aids the prevention of suicide. . This will be achieved using a staff member to develop a 1:1 weekly support with service user and identifying what the client would like to do.
Developing Potential SCIO - £9842.06
The grass roots project aims to facilitate people suffering from mental ill-health, especially those whose condition has been exacerbated by COVID-19, to feel part of their community. It plans to do this by extending staff hours to meet the need for increased support to participate in outdoor activities, further transport provision and run additional well-being sessions. The offering of activities to support mental wellbeing may include wild swimming, wellbeing walks, mindfulness, art, tasting sessions, quizzes and horticulture.
Dunoon Burgh Trust - £11412.06
The funds will allow Creative Blethers, an innovative project supporting and engaging a range of vulnerable individuals in the local community, offering creative respite in an informal and relaxed atmosphere. The funding would pay for a project co-ordinator to manage the aims and outcomes of the project and liaise with third sector organisations. A series of friendly social events and a range of creative opportunities will be offered, from a live theatre performance to a public talk on local history to arts and crafts workshops.
Friends of St Conan's Kirk - £22193.57
Funding will be used to install a heated Glass Box inside a cold Kirk to enable small group meetings and community togetherness to take place. The provision of a heated box would enable the Kirk to invite the community in to use it's facilities to come together post pandemic. Currently there is nowhere in the immediate area for local groups such as knit and natter, book club, flower arranging, yoga, crafting demonstrations and art classes to meet.
Friends of the Argyll papers - £12960
The funding will be used to employ a qualified archivist one day a week to facilitate groups and manage sessions, select documents and check transcripts. A digitisation officer will be appointed for a 4-week period at the start of the project to digitise relevant documents in the archive creating a bank of materials for transcription. Groups will meet weekly for an hour long session during which participants will transcribe an historical document. Each session will include space for networking and general chat, coffee and biscuits, as well as transcription.
Garelochhead Station Trust - £32151.06
The funding is to deliver a one year mentoring project to veterans in Dunoon. The current organisation based in a village on the outskirts of Helensburgh, has a membership of 128 people & is a group open to veterans, their families & the wider community. Last year 42 members from Helensburgh group travelled to Dunoon to commemorate Remembrance Day with 20 local veterans. This activity cemented a bond between both groups & there have been several joint activities since.
Glenorchy & Innishail - £5124.19
The project aims to promote mental health and wellbeing in the community by focusing on four key factors: physical activity, social interaction, building community resilience and access to outdoor space. The funding requested towards the successful 'coffee and gym' sessions are a continuation of what was set up after the first lockdown to encourage people back out in to the community.
Grey Matters Active Ageing - £11412.06
The fund will be used to offer ore social events and activities to members so they can meet and connect with other members. They will be encouraged to volunteer at these events to promote a sense of belonging and involvement plus widening their social circles after the pandemic. Also offer day trips to bring members together, offering a shared experience and allowing friendships to form. In addition we can develop a 'Handy Helpers' project group. Handy Helpers initially started during lockdown to assist with shopping, collecting prescriptions etc.
Heads Up Mid Argyll - £6112.06
Funds will be used to provide and offer a safe environment and range of activities which will gradually re-introduce people back into the wider community. Amongst the membership and within the wider community, there are numerous reports of individuals struggling with anxiety and fears of meeting and mixing with others in the wake of the COVID pandemic. This is particularly true of those who live alone, those who have underlying health conditions, older people and those who may have suffered mental ill-health previously. The group will meet initially with only a small number of people at any one time to slowly build up confidence. The group will offer non-judgmental peer support for people with a range of disabilities and a regular meeting point for a blether and refreshments.
Helensburgh & Local District CPR/Defibrillation Association - £6412.06
Funding will supply 3 new defibrillators and allow delivery of more free community life saving first aid and defibrillator training . The group want to deliver more face to face sessions to bring people together to combat social isolation and to empower individuals with crucial lifesaving skills.
Homestart Lorn - £16412.06
The funds will enable them to employ a full-time project manager. The organisation wish to expand support to all families in the Helensburgh area and a full time worker will have the capacity to do this. The Helensburgh project will replicate the good practice of the Oban organisation and utilise a relationship based approach to assist parents needing support by linking them with a volunteer befriender, a skilled worker or a range of group based supports.
Interloch Transport - £16412.06
The fund will be used to provide an additional estimated 857 journeys to connect the most vulnerable in the community to activities and appointments that support their physical and mental wellbeing. The project bridges the gap between transport and care in a rural setting. Services are designed to meet the needs of mainly elderly clients with moderate to high levels of physical disability. Support is also given to clients whose mental health impacts on their ability to leave the house or take public transport. Essential journeys like GP, dental, optician appointments take priority, then bank, chemist, post office visits followed by lunch clubs and social activities.
Islay & Jura Community Enterprises Limited - £20498.06
The funding will be sued for 3 projects that are designed to help address the mental health inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic and the needs of a range of vulnerable and ‘at risk’ local groups. Aquacare has been running for 20 years and offers warm water therapy sessions, Autumn Years has been running for 10 years and is an educational lunch club benefiting from visiting therapists and guests speakers and Chit Chat formed 5 years ago and is a group for people with long-term conditions. The Digital Connectivity started recently in response to lockdown.. Community learning and parent support is new and is being delivered in partnership with another third sector organisation. It will offer specialised sessions targeting people requiring additional input with adult literacies, employability skills, small business coaching, cooking and skills for well-being.
Islay Link Club - £19512.06
The project will focus on recovery post pandemic, strengthening community resilience and improving local connectivity, re-connecting people with the wider community, addressing barriers and promoting engagement. The aim is to harness the energy amassed during the pandemic and channel it in to the community taking ownership of it's own strategic plan and playing an active part in the delivery of it.
Kintyre link Club - £21412.06
The funds will be used to promote the welfare of its members, all of whom have lived experience of mental ill-health across the spectrum, including bipolar and obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, dissociative identity disorder and anxiety. People with learning difficulties and other health-related problems are also supported. At the club, friendships are built, isolation is lessened and self-esteem boosted, empowering individuals to realise their self-worth and the unique contribution they have to offer.
Kintyre Seasports - £3358.06
The money will be used to fund an innovative partnership project aimed at lowering participation barriers to get adults on the water and trying out sea sports in a local setting. Participants will try out sailing, stand-up paddle boarding and canoeing in a very low-pressure environment taking it at the pace they feel comfortable with. Each session will be led by a qualified lead instructor in the sport, with qualified/experienced assistants to help them, giving a very low teaching ratio to allow 1:1 support or in small numbers when participants lack confidence or need extra assistance.
Lorn and Oban Healthy Options Ltd - £31331.06
The project plans to develop sustainable workforce capacity to support the increase in demand of people with/or at risk of developing long term mental and physical health conditions. The funds will be used to employ a Level 4 Exercise Health Professional for 30 hours per week. The EHP is estimated to have care for 120 clients over a twelve month period and will co-produce a twelve week programme tailored to the individual that includes 1:1 support, exercise, education, self-management workshops, social activities and socially prescribing to services and activities available in the community.
Maggie Keswick Jencks Cancer Caring Centres Trust (Maggie's) - £3325
The money will be used to fund stress and relaxation groups for people with cancer and their family and friends. The project has been designed to improve mental health and wellbeing through mindfulness and relaxation techniques to make people feel more in control, which forms the cornerstone of emotional resilience. One-to-one sessions are offered to people living with cancer help unravel the root of their anxiety and tackle difficult emotions to improve mental health and resilience. Another desired outcome is that people feel less alone; sharing is key to the Centre's unique model of support.
Males & Females Tales Helensburgh - £18553
Funds will allow the group to train volunteer coaches & support workers to provide low level resilience methods & advice. The overarching aim is to educate & empower individuals to take care of their own mental fitness. The project will also see a variety of courses offered to the community free of charge such as mental health first aid, mindfulness, safe talk & guided meditation sessions.
Mind Matters Club Oban - £4456
The money will be used to fund room rental costs at the Rockfield Centre for one year and for day trips in Argyll. The recently established peer support project provides weekly group sessions offering a safe, comfortable place for members to talk and socialise. The primary purpose of the group is to raise awareness of suicide and for the prevention of suicide by early intervention. It's main client group is women over the age of 18 yrs and current members range in age from 22 to 66yrs.
Mull and Iona Community Trust - £8073
The Trust will use the money to relaunch and expand two pre-covid groups; Musical Minds & Safe and Sound. Musical Minds is a singing and music group open to anyone living with Dementia, Parkinson's Disease, the after affects of a stroke and/or experiencing feelings of social isolation and anxiety. Safe and Sound is a local peer support group run by and for the benefit of islanders experiencing mental ill health, previous trauma, a risk of suicide and/or loneliness. The group provides social activities, self-help support, a safe space and offers members and the wider community training in suicide and mental health intervention.
Multiple Sclerosis Centre, Mid Argyll - £26412.06
The fund will be used to employ a Wellbeing Outreach Worker to offer a Wellbeing Check-In Hub. Its aims are to identify personal needs, skills, goals, aspirations; to identify and breakdown barriers to access support; to identify important people (paid and unpaid) in a person’s life; to see past the limits of their long term condition or life circumstances to understand better the unique person they are. It aims to support people to feel valued in their community, aware of local services, engaged and connected; reduce fear for the future, isolation and loneliness; support people to live healthier and happier; offer access to a range of free holistic therapies, physical activity classes, relaxation classes and a range of craft groups and social activities.
New Start Oban - £2250
The funds will be used to supply starter packs to assist homeless people to successfully establish and retain their new home. The starter packs contain essential household items bought and donated for cooking, cleaning, sleeping and wellbeing, like duvets, kitchen utensils, pillows, bedding, toasters, kettles, microwaves etc.
New Way - £31016.06
This group is a peer support group who offer counselling & befriending to individuals 16 years plus who are affected by alcohol or drug misuse. The money will be used to fund 2 projects: 'Something Else' - Offer 40 bus trips (16 seater bus) into A&B countryside, Glasgow or Stirling which would provide an opportunity to socialise & take part in a chosen activity to show that there is something else on offer in the world. 'You're Something Else' - to offer sessional support meetings 3 times per week at their premises or at members homes to offer guidance to identify & support training needs.
Oban Communities Trust - The Rockfield Centre - £10646.06
The money will be used to fund a project called 'Growing Connections' and it will utilise the skillset of a wellness worker to support and engage the wider community in wellness and creative activities, particularly for those in the lower socio economic scale who due to location or financial constraints feel less able to reconnect with their community.
Oban Youth Cafe Project - £9217.06
The funds will be sued to support a minimum of ten, 16–19-year-olds, with their transition from high school to adult life. The proposed project involves working with young people who for a wide variety of reasons struggle to engage with services, for example, school refusers, difficult home life, identify as LGBTQ+ or struggle with their confidence. Many of these young people have been severely affected by the pandemic & have become increasingly isolated at home.
Project 81 Youth and Community Enterprise Limited - £42923.74
The funding will be used to support a programme of activities in their community facility, to bring the local community together & improve mental health & wellbeing. The project hopes to deliver a number of courses; ASIST training, Safetalk training, First Aid & food hygiene. It hopes to deliver 30 weeks of 'Chatty Cafe', 40 weeks of boccia sessions with cafe, 14 targeted yoga sessions & 16 small group gym sessions with cafe (Fit 2 Talk). Additionally, it hopes to deliver a community garden with associated opportunities, & 7 x adult outdoor activity sessions for groups.
Raymond Deans joint app Kintyre Link Club - £3912.06
Funding will be used to deliver a 'Listening Service' in Campbeltown. Costs are broken down as payment to professional listener. The engagement and availability a professional listener locally will reduce and prevent mental ill-health by listening, supporting and guiding service users in the right direction.
Relationships Scotland Couple Counselling Argyll - £4345
The funding will help address the increased demand on its individual and couple counselling services.. Pre-pandemic the organisation was able to offer appointments within two weeks of referral. Despite adapting it's service provision during the pandemic from face to face to on-line appointments, it has had a waiting list of three months since the summer of 2021. This funding will help reduce this waiting list.
Rhinns playing field Association - £3000
The funding will be used to improve accessibility to the local playing field. It is estimated that 500 people of all ages, locals and visitors will benefit from this project. Current access to the field is from the main road and has a steep and uneven slope. The improved access, incorporating a turning circle and the creation of a lay-by from roadside, will increase community safety as vehicles will no longer need to reverse on to the road. The field is currently inaccessible to people with mobility issues. More individuals, especially those with challenged mobility or post covid anxiety, will be encouraged and able to attend activities and events conducive to community wellbeing.
Ross of Mull Community Café - £4475
The funds will be used to engage a freelance co-ordinator to run its Community Cafe. . The cafe's primary objective is no longer providing lunch but reducing social isolation by enabling people to meet together. Employing a freelance cafe co-ordinator who would manage the cafe, encourage attendance by target groups and increase the number of volunteers would revitialise the service and enable the valuable work of signposting those most in need to the appropriate agencies.
Shopper-Aide Ltd - £50938.06
Funds will be used to re-start and expand activities dedicated to tackling social isolation for older people. The service has a 10-year track record of benefitting health and wellbeing and they have provided support in a variety of ways. During the pandemic, that support was channeled through 'Phone Buddies' telephone befriending service, regularly conversing with people who otherwise would have had very little contact with the outside world. The applicant realises services will require to be adapted and delivered in COVID-friendly ways to instill confidence in clients who have barely been outdoors in almost two years. Group and face-to-face activities will be re-started, smaller groups being accommodated, while other participants will require help to become more mobile and to leave their homes.
Sporting Memories Foundation - £6362.06
Funding will be used to establish a Sporting Memories Club for isolated older people with multiple conditions such as dementia, depression, loneliness and increasingly limited mobility. Through a mixture of reminiscing, social activities and taking part in physical activities, the club will connect older people through their interest in sport. The majority of participants will traditionally be male, who are more difficult to engage, and unpaid carers, often older women isolated while looking after their husbands at home. Reminiscing on sport and supported by memorabilia depending on the participants' sporting interest, will stimulate cognition. Physical activity will gradually increase from being inactive with a range of balance and strength exercises
Stepping Stones Support Group - £5945
This project is from a constituted community organisation which is run by its members, for adults who have long term health conditions. They have a track record of providing a varied programme of activities chosen by members since 2015. They will use the funds to deliver the following activities: 45 sessions of physical activity, 8 x mindfulness sessions, 10 x Group Art Therapy sessions & monthly themed drop in sessions.
Strachur Hub - £10000
Funding will all respite support to be provided to carers and family members which will assist them to cope with their caring duties. Help will be given to others to regain their wellbeing and to make healthier choices and lifestyle changes. The road to mental physical and mental recovery will be supported. The community will be encouraged to maintain physical fitness, an important factor in mental health. Training will be undertaken for falls prevention and mindfulness classes will be open to all. More language and singing classes will be run. During Covid the organisation established a weekly telephone contact system with every member of The Hub to check on general Health & Wellbeing and to help reduce isolation
Streetcones - £26408.06
Funding will be used to stage a play & perform at 4+ locations to communities across A & B. The project is presented as a partnership with one other group & will involve 50 people (service users, staff & volunteers) & could reach audiences of 2000 people. The main partner is from an arts charity with a particular focus on film & theatre, & uses creative workshops to help participants achieve more positive outcomes. They have been providing workshops to the 2nd partner, a community mental health & wellness centre, to develop members communication skills, boost confidence & self-esteem and provide cultural opportunities to individuals with learning difficulties & poor mental health.
Taynuilt Fitness and Balance Club - £3157.20
These funds will allow us to hold a weekly 1 hr fitness classes in it's rural village. The fitness classes are designed to improve and maintain mobility by developing flexibility, improving breathing, and stamina. Participants are encouraged to exercise to the type and degree with which they feel comfortable, within their own capabilities.
The Ardchattan Centre - £17488.86
This will fund a Community Engagement Officer for the new hub. The hub is in an area classified as 'very remote rural' and is accessed by 8 miles of single track. There is no through road, limited public transport and an acute lack of amenities. Oban is forty minutes by car and an hour by bus. Post pandemic the project aims to bring together the 165 residents in the immediate surrounding area and those 1,200 living in the wider far flung communities. The group plans to deliver activities which address social exclusion and promote health and wellbeing by employing an Engagement Officer.
The Community Bureau SCIO - £15328.06
The money will be used to support its Moving On project which aims to supplement the befriending work it already carries out by tackling mobility and mental health issues and reconnecting communities, responding to existing needs and to the damaging impacts of COVID. For around 300 people, the support will reduce isolation, bring people together, and support improving emotional and mental wellbeing. Services will encompass support for those most vulnerable with mobility issues. Older people with physical barriers will be transported to social groups and to hospital appointments. Transport to meet with and connect to others will provide a vital lifeline, whilst providing exercise and walking activities will build core strength and improve physical and mental wellbeing. Support for those with mental ill-health will include sessions offering mindfulness, self-awareness and confidence-building skills.
Voices of Argyll - £6412.06
The project hopes to extend beyond a once a week choir session to offer a Singing & Wellbeing weekend (not residential) and work in detail on pieces for a Summer Tour. Singers will receive expert tuition on vocal technique, musicianship & work with a renowned wellbeing coach. The project aims to draw inspiration from the landscape to energise & promote wellbeing, work on breathing whilst taking time to appreciate connecting with others & the natural beauty of their surroundings. It is proposed that the Summer Tour will see concerts in Dunoon, Loch Awe & Inveraray Castle. Filming is also proposed so that online audiences can view performances. The main aims of the applicant are to offer quality singing opportunities in a rural area which are rarely available outside a city and also to bring cultural experiences to rural audiences.
West kintyre promotions CIC - £3412.06
Funds will use used to organise and run events in their community, encouraging people to come together in a safe way in their local area. They plan to present theatre, music concerts, game shows, comedy, panto and exhibitions suitable for people of all ages. Older people and families, many of whom live in rural locations, have been denied the opportunity to socialise for almost two years as local groups haven't met and the impact on mental health, confidence and wellbeing has been significant. The project's planned events are open to everyone and will bring people together in their local vicinity, village halls hosting, as well as larger events to be held in towns.
