Get funding to buy in services from social enterprises for mental health and wellbeing
/Collaborating to address the mental health & wellbeing challenges in Scotland’s communities.
As part of the Scottish Community Alliance’s community sector network, SENScot, SCHW and CHEX are collaborating on a pilot project to address the mental health and wellbeing challenges faced within local communities as a result of Covid19.
The pilot will enable 15 community organisations across Scotland to tap into a wide range of mental health & wellbeing focused activities and services supplied by social enterprises and third sector organisations. The purpose of this is to support community organisations in addressing emerging mental health & wellbeing needs within their community.
Each community organisation will have access to £1k to buy in mental health & wellbeing focused activities or services from Nov20 to Feb21.
CHEX is inviting expressions of interest from organisations on the CHEX community-led health database interested in participating in the pilot.
How to get involved
There are 7 places on the pilot for organisations on the CHEX community-led health database. To express interest please tell us in no more than 500 words why your organisation would like to be considered.
We will be selecting community-led health organisations representing a diverse range of communities to take part. The pilot also aims to address need where organisations are unable to provide this themselves and this will be a further consideration when selecting participating organisations.
Please let us know by Monday 26 October.
What’s involved as a pilot participant?
If you take part, it is likely you will do the following:
You will get a chance to shape the pilot by saying a bit about the emerging needs in your community and the types of activities & services you are interested in accessing. (Oct20)
Identify a lead point of contact for project communications. (Oct20)
Browse the Menu of activities & services (available early November) and explore what you want to access. (Nov20)
We’ll connect you with the suppliers you’re interested in so you can discuss local requirements and schedule activity. (Nov20-Jan21)
Activity takes place as agreed between you and the supplier. (Nov20-Feb21)
Submit feedback on suppliers and activities accessed. (Nov20-Feb21)
Looking for more background information?
This nationwide pilot is based on the model developed by SENScot & Glasgow SEN for the Glasgow Pockets & Prospects Project which aimed to tackle loneliness and to mitigate the negative impacts of welfare reform. This involved six community-based organisations having access to a small amount of money to buy in activities and services from social enterprise suppliers. Mental health issues including anxiety, stress & low self-esteem were key factors identified by the participating community-based organisations, with these resulting from a range of contributory factors including low income and stigma around mental health. The community-based organisations reported positive results through accessing the activities and services from social enterprise suppliers. See previous Menu of Activities.
“The activity went down so well and made a huge difference in the dynamics of our group. After the activity, our group has really seen a different in cohesion and participation.”
“Allowed people to experience real laughter and joy for a couple of hours when they never would have done something like this otherwise.”
“Everyone plays their part, this fostered the feeling of acceptance and inclusion. Being able to take part in something that encouraged everyone to work as one but was fun and bolstered confidence, meaning that everyone left on a high and feeling great.”
Contact
If you have any questions about this pilot and how you could be involved, please contact Andrew Paterson at CHEX.
