Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults: year 2 - monitoring and reporting summary

Annex A: Project Examples – by target group and priority issues

This Annex provides a selection of examples of projects which include a focus on the Fund’s identified themes and at risk target groups, as well as examples of other at risk groups identified locally.

Project examples by target group

Women (particularly young women, and women and young women affected by gender-based sexual violence)

Aberdeen City, Pathways, Domestic Abuse Peer Support Group

The project will support women who have experienced domestic abuse (or continue to do so), who have gone through the counselling process, or do not feel the counselling process fits their needs. The project will run two weekly support groups for women, supported by a trained counsellor, to address the need for ongoing support, especially for those who are experiencing delays in the court system. The project will be supported by counsellors to ensure that the mental health needs of the group at times of increased anxiety can be met.

People with a long-term health condition or disability

Headway Highland offers peer support groups to adults with an acquired brain injury (ABI) and their families/carers. Support groups are located in Thurso, Wick, Alness, Inverness, Nairn and Fort William and enable individuals to be themselves, celebrating the unique contribution they can make to the group and empowering and encouraging them to see their social contribution. Just because someone has experienced an ABI, that is not all they are, nor is a caring role all a person is. The group promotes shared interests, activities and peer support for each other.

People at higher risk of covid

Portlethen Jubilee Hall Aberdeenshire

The project will provide a lunch-club for people with complex additional needs. Participants will be fully involved in developing menus, preparing food and planning activities. The idea has come from community cafe users who have additional support needs and physical disabilities. Many can't leave the house without assistance and find it hard to find places to socialise with peers in a supportive environment. The lunch club will be geared towards their specific needs, where they can have a "voice" and have fun meeting new people and trying new activities.

People from a Minority Ethnic background

PASSION4FUSION Edinburgh

The project will address the disproportionate impact of mental health inequalities affecting African men living in deprived areas of Edinburgh with limited access to appropriate mainstream services. A trained team will provide appropriate support and early interventions to men with complex health needs. Services will be under-pinned by peer support and activities are designed to involve the real-lived lived experience of service users in order to reduce stigma and discrimination, reduce social isolation and loneliness and increase self-esteem and self-efficacy to seek for help. Activities will include workshops, mental health first aid training space to discuss men’s mental health issues and weekly physical fitness exercises.

Refugees and those with no recourse to public funds

Mossvale Community Church, Sewing2gether All Nations

The project seeks to support refugees and asylum seekers by engaging them in sewing/craft workshops. Dedicated workers (including Lived Experience Workers) work with each individual on any need that arises as part of their process for seeking refugee or asylum seeker status. Signposting to external partners or developing knowledge within the group are also key.

The planning team engage with external services e.g. Scottish Refugee Council, and Renfrewshire's Integration Network (IN-Ren) to identify the specific needs of the refugee community in Renfrewshire and Glasgow.

People facing socio-economic disadvantage

Whitlawburn Community Resource Centre, The Stay Warm Project (South Lanarkshire)

The aim is to provide a warm communal space for people who are finding it difficult to heat their homes. There is a Cosy Corner with books, board games, TV and hot drinks where people can meet as well as weekly coffee mornings, offering basic breakfast items and Tea & Tablet group for people to learn how to make best use of their devices. Services provided in the hub include welfare benefit, money, debt, fuel poverty and energy advice through a Citizens Advice Bureau outreach 2 days per week. A food co-operative provides access to low-cost food in partnership with Fareshare and supermarket retailers and recycled donated school uniforms are issued to family to save on the cost of the new term.

People experiencing severe and multiple disadvantage

Grassmarket Community Project

This project will focus on vulnerable adults including: people who are rough sleeping, homeless or vulnerably housed, people with disabilities, mental health issues or mental illness, people with experience of or currently experiencing trauma, people in poverty, with substance misuse issues, long term physical or terminal illness, older people and people who face deep social isolation and exclusion.

Four wellbeing activities will be provided each week, a peer support/ mental health and wellbeing group (bringing in experts in a safe environment), (a gardening group, a local walking group and an outdoor swimming group.

People with diagnosed mental illness

Lucky Ewe Recovery and Renewal Fife

The project supports the mental health and wellbeing of the learning disabled and those with additional support needs who may leave school with no academic qualifications and no option to enter further education or seek employment.

This project will engage interns using different stimuli and models compared to conventional forms of learning. Interns will be supported in an animal husbandry and farming environment, particularly working with sheep as relatively small, undemanding, and non-aggressive animals, but requiring care, attention and management. The experiences are also all embedded in farming management and operations, with the related skills required for employability in that sector.

People affected by psychological trauma (including adverse childhood experiences)

The Moira Anderson Foundation Glasgow Satellite Service

This project supports adults with long-term health conditions affected by childhood sexual abuse. Working in partnership with the Alliance Links Worker Programme to reduce barriers to participation, it will deliver therapy/counselling, complementary therapies, self-management programme and Peer Support from identified GP practices across Glasgow and in the City Centre.

People disadvantaged by geographical location (particularly remote and rural areas)

Fun First will deliver monthly sessions and some special events which will include sessions on the peninsula (Garelochhead & Rosneath) to reach those who are rurally isolated in addition to the Drumfork Community Centre in Helensburgh and Colgrain Community House. Attendees will have access to health practitioners as well as fitness, nutrition and other local wellbeing/care organisations. It is free to attend and organisers will reach out to people they have not seen for a while.

Older people

Charlies Chatterboxes meets every day in different care homes and hospices throughout South Lanarkshire, between one and two hours with each group of six to ten residents. It brings people together to chat, play games and share photographs with everyone joining in for as long (or short) a time as they feel able.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender and Intersex ( LGBTQI+ ) communities

Four Pillars UK LGBT+ Outreach - Moray

The aim of the project is to improve the mental, emotional, physical and sexual health of LGBTQI+ individuals across Moray by delivering LGBTQI+ awareness training in community centres to promote a zero-tolerance attitude towards homophobia, biphobia and transphobia and other discriminations. An Outreach Coordinator will support individuals and engage with communities working with service users in reporting crimes to Police Scotland.

Project examples focusing on the Fund’s identified priority issues

Social Isolation and Loneliness

Forth Valley College Social Hub

The Social Hub aims to reduce the social isolation and loneliness experienced by young people with ASN, by offering informal opportunities for them to connect out-with their College day. The Social Hub will be a relaxed atmosphere which will promote social interaction, activities and encourage young people to discuss their mental health needs and promote ways for them to improve their own coping strategies and resilience.

Early Intervention

Pillar aim to maximise mental health recovery through early intervention and prevention, ensuring that those in the early stages of mental health decline, those living with long term, clinical mental health diagnoses and those at risk of relapse have the support they need to take control of their lives, find hope and make the most of life's opportunities whilst establishing their own goals and aspirations and how to achieve them. The needs led service supports individuals to develop the range of skills and opportunities required to self-manage their mental health and establish meaningful community connections.

Addressing Poverty and inequality / Cost of Living

Nairn Citizens Advice Bureau, Armed Forces Community HUB

The project will provide a holistic advice service: reducing poverty by income maximisation, employability and opportunity to reach partner agencies in a local, independent face to face environment which does not currently exist such as Poppy Scotland, Combat Stress, SACRO, DWP Forces Champion. This will Increase independence, reduce strain on family life and increase social inclusion.

The Hub will providing a safe space for a hard-to-reach group (vulnerable members of the armed forces) who by their nature are often socially & rurally isolated, preferring the company of those with shared experiences.

Other themes (identified locally)

Carers and Bereavement

Touched by Suicide Scotland

The project will support individuals bereaved by the suicide of a family member or friend. Suicide is a very isolating death for the bereaved because of the stigma. Support will be provided for 40 individuals in one-one or group support whatever is suitable to the individual. Group sessions will be offered in Scotstoun and Easterhouse as well as one to one support across Glasgow.

Sports

Forth Valley Disability Sport

The Without Barriers project will deliver bespoke sport and physical activity sessions for adults aged 16+ living with a disability or limiting condition. The project will meet a significant gap in daytime provision of this kind taking a targeted approach. The project has been developed following the '5 steps to mental wellbeing' to generate the greatest impact.

Arts and Culture

Firefly Arts

This is a free weekly programme of up to 30 sessions to vulnerable young adults (16-25) who have been identified as requiring additional support to address the barriers to them building social networks, engaging with education and/or moving on to further training and/or employment. These multi-media arts workshops will build confidence and wellbeing, generate a sense of community, and develop transferrable skills. The issues explored in the sessions will be young people led. Food will be provided at each session as many of the young people engaged are dealing with food insecurity. All our practitioners and staff have received training in First Aid for Mental Health (SCQF level 5) and have a proven track record of success working with young people with additional support needs. The Spit it Out festival

This will be the second festival for the women-run consent and mental health charity ‘Spit It Out’. The festival will deliver a programme of 48 events in 13 venues across Glasgow, Edinburgh and online, The Spit it Out Festival is an immersive arts festival focusing on creative ways to talk about consent, mental health and healing with exhibitions, workshops, talks, film screenings and live performances, all held in a supportive, safe and inclusive space.