Round One awards in Dumfries and Galloway
This first year of the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund was launched in 2021. (Awards listed alphabetically)
A Listening Ear – A Listening Ear: Dumfries and Galloway-wide Befriending Service – £49,780
This befriending project intends to expand the reach of A Listening Ear so that it becomes more of a region-wide service by recruiting volunteers from across the region to support lonely and isolated people.
All Roads Lead to Whithorn Trust – Well Whithorn – £31,195
The funding is for a dedicated wellness coordinator to organise and promote activities within the new facility that are particularly designed to cater to the most vulnerable, whether by reason of disability, mental health or rural isolation. A new catering kitchen also offer opportunities for classes in healthy cooking and eating.
Allanton Peace Sanctuary – Allanton Volunteer Well-Being Experience Programme – £6622
Introduction to Volunteering and Well-Being Programme is a programme of activities introducing the value and benefits of volunteering outdoors, with the addition of a variety of personal development activities that contribute to improving mental, emotional and physical health, where overall health and wellbeing is enhanced.
Annan and District Day Centre – Promoting the health and well-being of individuals to live in their own homes longer and to reduce isolation – £17,500
This project, through group activities and services provided at the day centre – meals, transport, foot care, help at home, and other activities – supports people to live more independently for longer in their own homes.
Annandale and Eskdale S.H.A.P – STEPS – £4900
This funding will enable the expansion of the current ‘STEPS’ project into new localties within Dumfries and Galloway that will help its participants make a more positive impact in their professional and personal lives. It encourages greater self-belief, motivation and the ability to both set and realise goals. Catering to all learning styles, the STEPS course conveys its key concepts through a mixture of lively activities, interactive discussion, video materials, and personal reflection.
Apex Scotland – Time To Chat – £21,153
This project will enable the provision of private, user friendly space for beneficiaries to access as a safe space where they can come and talk to a staff member.
Autumn Voices – Telling Older People’s Stories – £11,770
Telling Older People’s Stories is a new project aimed at supporting older people who are socially isolated to come together as a group to write and tell their own stories through creative activity and writing workshops.
Balmaclellan Community Trust – Balmaclellan Blether – £4017
This project delivers a twice monthly lunch club, passing on information about support and activities in the local area in a fun, informal and safe environment. The lunch club also provides a place for people to reconnect with each other and to revitalise communities and neighbourhoods in the local area who are prone to isolation and loneliness.
Castle Douglas Community Information Technology Centre – Create IT – £27,009
This project aims to get people together in small groups in Castle Douglas and Balmaclellan to use digital art and creative apps including music creation apps to improve their mental health and wellbeing. The project aims to share the art within the community, displaying it in The Community Centre in Castle Douglas and in The Smiddy in Balmaclellan throughout the project to ensure that people feel better valued and fully supported within their community.
Coronation Day Centre – Garden Project – £9581
The funding will be used establish a communal garden for members where they can socialise and take part in gardening activities.
Creetown Initiative – Ferry Friends – £9288
The funding will expand the current ‘Ferry Friends’ project to start a befrienders service to members supported by a dedicated staff member to enable the recuritment of more volunteers and provide mental health first aid training.
Dalry Community Council – Community Wellbeing in the Glenkens – £5975
This project will ultimately deliver a community-led programme of activites aimed at increasing social circles and reducing social isolation and loneliness.
DG Voice – DG Voice Community Activities – £63,865
The project, through a dedicated staff member, supports disabled people, people with long-term and/or chronic health conditions, Carers, and elderly people by delivering a mix of activities, group meetings, discussion groups and drop-in clinics for adults. Through these groups, people would be more supported to avoid mental health crises. By enabling connections and peer-support, people can self-manage their mental health and become more resilient and unpaid Carers are included and valued.
Dumfries and Galloway Advocacy Service – Dumfries and Galloway Advocacy Service – £29,970
Through a dedicated staff member, this service will be able to support more people across the region with their mental health issues. This in turn will help to reduce suicide risk, loneliness, social isolation and inequality. More people across the region will be able to live independently after having a voice and ensuring they have been listened to and supported in their own home to access the advice and services they require within mental health services, GPs, social work, housing and more.
Dumfries and Galloway College – First Aid for Mental Health in the Community – £12,426
This project will offer Mental Health First Aid courses to adults aged 16 plus within communities across Dumfries and Galloway. The aim of the project is to raise awareness of the common mental health conditions and to give participants the confidence to have a conversation and to provide support and signposting.
Dumfries and Galloway Hard of Hearing Group – Lip Reading Classes – £19,380
This funding will provide lip reading classes to help participants to better understand what is being said through recognition of lip shapes for specific sounds, facial expressions and context. Classes also address a range of issues around hearing loss including fear of misunderstanding, loss of confidence and self esteem and individual feelings about hearing loss.
Dumfries and Galloway LGBT Plus – Reaching Out – £23,538
‘Reaching Out’ is a new project to make the service more accessible by being based within communities on a weekly basis and will form the same model of support beneficiaries would receive in main hubs, with one-to-one support, peer support, workshops, role play sessions, with each session tailored to the personal needs, duration and topics.
Dumfries and Galloway ME and Fibromyalgia Network – DGMEFM Network Online Craft Workshops and Wellbeing Sessions – £6000
This projects supports members of the ME and Fybhromyalgia community to come together, socialise and take part in arts and craft activities to reduce loneliness felt by members following the covid pandemic and significant periods of shielding.
Dumfries and Galloway Mental Health Association – Frontline Operational Support – £53,668
The funding has been used to support frontline staff to centralise systems to enable operational planning to be recorded and evaluated in a consistent and more standardised way. This funding will provide a more focused frontline service and enable staff members to concentrate fully on the direct provision of care and support.
Dumfries and Galloway Outdoor and Woodland Learning Group – Branching Out – £84,469
Branching Out is an evidence-based programme developed by Scottish Forestry and will be delivered across the region on a weekly basis. Branching out enabled participants to feel comfortable outdoors. Some of the high quality outdoor learning opportunities include creating fires, shelters, and campfire cooking. As well as time to socialise, the project also includes: confidence and team building tasks; environmental art; and identifying trees, birds, and insects, etc. Physical activity is increased through walks and other exercise.
Dumfries YMCA – Dumfries YMCA Community Café – £29,780
The aim of the project is to serve meals from predominantly food waste sources such as Fair Share and provide healthy eating options at a low cost by converting a disused space into a community café that is warm and welcoming to all individuals in the community. The project aims to provide training in the local community for catering and hospitality skills by upskilling volunteers.
Early Years Scotland – Increased Support for New/Young Mums and their Children – £19,662
This new service will offer in-depth support and opportunities for new/young mums to access practical information on baby/child health, nutrition, early development, family health/wellbeing, etc., and build essential parenting knowledge, skills, and hands-on experiences. They will also improve their bonding/attachment with their child and develop new peer/social networks with other local parents to share experiences and have on-going peer support. This will help parents better cope with parenting challenges and improve their child’s longer-term social capacity, mental health, wellbeing, and resilience.
Electric Theatre Workshop – Transform – £50,000
Transform is a project of different community arts experiences and programmes designed to help the community recover socially and economically from the covid pandemic. Transform will deliver a theatre space based in Lochside for 16-20 year olds to attend after school/college, along with a senior theatre group, the development of Drag School for young people aged between 16 and 25 who feel disconnected from mainstream programmes, an LGBT+ choir that meets monthly throughout Dumfries and Galloway, and a programme of reminiscence shows and events that will be broadcast digitally into care homes throughout the region.
Food Train Limited – Food Train Friends – £80,000
This funding will support the Food Train’s Befriending service, which supports older people in their homes. The project includes access to a telephone befriending service, one-to-one visits where volunteers will visit people in their homes on a regular basis for company, and organising trips to local lunch clubs, garden centres, shops and parks etc. The project also offers training opportunities for older people around information technology and social media to enable them to be able to connect with friends and family who may live far away.
Independent Living Support – It’s All About You! – £100,000
The project aims to support people to live independently and healthily, and address the inequalities and barriers they face, not only in health, but in employment, education, their locality, housing and transport by offering a blend of outreach one-to-one support and monthly peer support activities to improve social, economic and health outcomes for people.
Inspired Community Enterprise Trust – Improving Mental Wellbeing for young people with ASN through enabling employability and employer-ability – £21,141
This project will continue the development and delivering of programmes dedicated to improving the inclusion and mental wellbeing of young people with additional support needs (ASN) to support transition to adulthood and into sustainable, meaningful positive destinations, which promote wellbeing.
Kate’s Kitchen – Growing the Community – £20,538
An exisiting Garden Project allows service users to grow fruit and vegetables not only for their own use but also for use in supplementing their free food service. This project is to employ a designated Garden Worker to lead and grow the group, expanding the service to enable more people to benefit.
Kirkconnel and Kelloholm Development Trust – Upper Nithsdale Good Share: Community Health and Wellbeing Project – £29,984
This project will build on the work and activities that evolved during the COVID pandemic to create robust, well-resourced and sustainable Community Health Service/Centre that meets the physical and mental health needs of the more vulnerable residents in the Upper Nithsdale by creating libraries of resources and equipment that are available to the community as and when they require them; providing support groups and activities; training volunteers and community ambassadors; and working with partner agencies to enhance existing Food Share and Check and Chat Services.
Learners Together Machars – Accessible Art and Craft for Mental Health – £2920
This project will provide the opportunity to engage again in some face-to-face learning to help with their mental wellbeing. Activities will be delivered in Dumfries, Stranraer and Newton Stewart and will include accessible art, sculpture and mask making and aims to improve participants feeling of wellbeing and increased self esteem.
Let’s Get Sporty – Let’s Get Mindful – £34,856
Let’s Get Mindful is a new project to help tackle mental health in Dumfries and Galloway. The project will provide support for people who may be suffering with mental health to take part in sport sessions, which will highlight and challenge issues that may be faced by many people in the region through the delivery of sport, discussions and group work. The sessions will look to work on a different objective each week and be based around a multi sports project, walking sports, football, and older adults sport classes.
LGBT Youth Scotland – Changing Lives through Youth Work – £20,000
This project, through a dedicated Youth Work Officer in Dumfries and Galloway will enable expanded reach, increasing the number of LGBTI young people aged 16 plus supported in line with other areas of Scotland and allow for increased partnership work with mental health services to create clear pathways for LGBTI young people to access services more effectively.
Lincluden After School Group – Mending Minds, Health and Homes – £14,644
Support for parents with additional support needs/disabled children who have experienced hardship and mental health problems since the start of the covid pandemic. This project offers respite sessions to families most in need and extra support for current parents. Short breaks will give parents and siblings time to recharge and provide a lifeline for families who feel overwhelmed or overcome by the challenges.
Local Initiatives in New Galloway (LING) – People, Places and Outdoor Spaces – £39,480
The project will employ a dedicated staff member to expand the activities and services it provides at the community managed town hall to reach additional members of the community.
Local Initiatives in New Galloway LING – Men’s Monday Morning Coffee – £700
A small project within the overall ‘People, Places and Outdoor Spaces’ project. It focuses upon a small cohort of the New Galloway and Kells community – men, and retired men in particular who may be widowers, or may be Carers of a partner to initiate a men’s conversation group which would meet in the Lesser Hall in New Galloway one morning each week over a cup of coffee. This will support those who may be struggling to live independently and healthily in their own homes, or who may be struggling because they are caring for others in their own home.
Loreburn Housing Association – Fit for Life – £59,166
This project will fund an Activities Coordinator who will recruit and train volunteers to engage with Later Living customers to reduce social isolation and improve wellbeing, which will result in people being able to live longer and independently in their own homes.
Moffat Town Hall Redevelopment Trust – The Harmony Club – £7776
The funding will provide a weekly social club for the community focusing on both physical and mental stimulation. During the weekly session, beneficiaries will receive a hot meal and take part in social activities alongside receiving general information and informative talks/presentations from a range of partners. The project also provides safe transport to ensure as many people as possible can attend.
Moniaive Initiative – Glencairn Health and Wellbeing Support Project – £19,174
This project will expland its current services to offer new community activities into the community shop and hub – The Hive, to support the mental health and wellbeing of some of the more vulnerable community members, and to support the general health and wellbeing of a wider cross section of residents.
Mossburn Community Farm – Animal Assisted Therapy: Our Stories – £3500
The project will assist young adults struggling with stress, anxiety, and low self-worth to create a picture book of fictional stories with Mossburn Community Farm and their animals as the setting and inspiration.
OutPost Arts – Full time ‘Creative Wellbeing Director’ – £65,000
This project will deliver a diverse arts programme that improves access to high quality, meaningful creative opportunities for rural communities.
Paragon Ensemble – Sounds Well Good – £10,366
A new programme of inclusive music workshops and performances that will bring together groups of people with disabilities in Dumfries and Stranraer to enhance their mental health and wellbeing, whilst establishing new connections and friendships, reducing social isolation and strengthening support networks.
Propagate Scotland – Growing Connections – £8500
This project will connect people and communities in the Glenkens area around food by organising and facilitating ways for people to come together to share skills and knowledge around gardening and growing, to share produce, to share seeds, to share tools and to share food together.
Relationship Scotland Dumfries and Galloway – Breaking Down Barriers to Healthy Minds – £30,000
This funding will enable counselling services to be offered free to vulnerable groups so that anyone can access this service without fear of cost and for as many sessions as is needed for the client to feel in control of their lives and mental health.
Samaritans Dumfries – Supporting Mental Health in the Dumfries and Galloway Farming Community – £4950
This project is aimed at reducing emotional distress and suicide amongst those working in the farming community within Dumfries and Galloway. The project will highlight the support available through our 24/7 telephone and email helpline, as well as the Samaritans Self-Help app and work with a range of people and organisations to improve listening skills within the community and to help people to identify when someone may be in need of someone to talk to or in need of support.
Shambellie House Trust – Breathing Space at Shambellie – £29,960
This project will develop a programme of work placements giving opportunity to work with experts, gain experience and contribute to the running of Shambellie. This will include outdoor activities, such as gardening and tree surgery, visitor services, such as shop and reception, and interpretation through the design and delivery of tours, trails and sensory stories. Respite activities for young people and their Carers will provide opportunities for them to be creative with tutors. Partner PAMIS (Promoting a More Inclusive Society) support the development of sensory stories with people with profound and multiple disabilities and for them, to bring the history of the house to life to wider audiences.
South Machars Community Centre – Food and Nutrition Awareness – £6380
The project is to provide a variety of food/cooking based learning activities to the community of the south Machars. This project aims to inspire and educate about food and nutrition, offering a variety of different cooking classes and demonstrations to promote a healthier lifestyle and better choices. The result would mean an increased awareness of how to maintain a healthy diet, how to cook affordable and healthy meals from scratch, as often as possible, using the food donated to a community fridge from local supermarkets.
The Devils Porridge Museum Reviving – The Cordite Club – £5600
The Cordite Club will be an over 60s weekly lunchtime club. Many of the participants will be in their 80s and even 90s and will have been shielding during the lockdown. A varied and fun programme of activities will be developed in order to provide participants with a unique and fulfilling experience. These activities will include card bingo, arts and crafts sessions, games, talks, films, music, intergenerational sessions and visits from health professionals and representatives from Police, Fire etc. Transport, lunch and refreshments will be provided.
The Hub Dumfries and Galloway (the hub your community action centre) – Spring Social Prescribing Project – £43,140
The ‘Social Prescribing’ project works with people to improve their mental health and wellbeing, better connect them with local support networks, build their capacity to self manage their conditions and reduce reliance on medication and reduce dependence on NHS primary care services. This project will expand its services to be able to deliver in Nithsdale.
The Stove Network – Open Hoose – £29,750
The ‘Open Hoose’ project enables the delivery of community-led creative activities across Dumfries and Galloway.
Threave Rovers Football Club – Threave Rovers FC ‘Head Clear’ Initiative – £6600
Threave Rovers FC ‘Head Clear’ Initiative will involve the delivery of 20 workshops utilising football as a tool to engage a wide range of people in conversations about mental health and wellbeing. Workshops will be delivered using a variety of approaches, including matchdays and training, where Threave Rovers FC management, committee and players will engage in activities alongside people from the wider community.
User and Carer Involvement – Men’s Wellbeing – £39,021
Recruitment of a dedicated staff member to establish a Mens Shed in Dumfries specifically for men with learning disabilities and work towards establishment of groups in Annan, Castle Douglas and Stranraer.