We are delighted to share news of a new investment from the Scottish Government – a share of 15 million-pounds to support adult mental health at the heart of communities across Edinburgh.

This is a hugely welcome recognition of the role community and voluntary sector organisations have and continue to play in promoting and developing good mental health and wellbeing for citizens and communities in Edinburgh and across the country.

Bridie (our Chief Executive said)
‘The pandemic has put a spotlight on the need for community-based mental-health support for citizens and communities across Edinburgh and the country. We at EVOC are delighted that smaller organisations and grass-roots community groups across Edinburgh will have the chance to benefit from this investment from the Scottish Government, delivering activities and services that support and take a more holistic approach to people’s wellbeing. Building on EVOC’s enabling role, distributing funds like the Response Recovery & Resilience funding in 2020, our aspiration for this fund is to mitigate against the impact of the pandemic by reaching those community organisations who have trusted local connections.’

Maria Arnold, our Senior Development Officer for Adult Mental Health, added:
‘Unequal social and economic pressures have taken an inevitable toll on mental health and wellbeing, and this funding is an important step towards tackling health inequalities. Small community organisations are perfectly placed to support people holistically, to prevent mental health needs from escalating.’

We’re going to be collaborating with a number of partners – including the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership, Edinburgh’s Thrive Collaborative, key voluntary sector organisations and the people who would benefit from this funding – and are focused on developing a funding process that prioritises what works at a grass-roots level and what the citizens and communities of our city really value.  

Dr Linda Irvine-Fitzpatrick, Strategic Programme Manager for Thrive Edinburgh and SRO, Edinburgh Pact and Community Mobilisation said:
‘I am delighted to see this new money for communities and we will be able to action allocating it quickly, building on existing relationships. It’s an exciting opportunity to be bold and engage in dialogue with lots of people.’

APPLICATIONS
The fund will be open for applications by the end of November 2021, and in the coming weeks everyone involved will be listening to communities and providing our members, partners and colleagues with regular updates. This includes details of income thresholds for organisations who are considering applying – make sure you sign up to our e-mailing list to get the latest news.

MORE ABOUT THE FUND
The £15 million-pound investment for communities across Scotland, builds on the children and young people’s community wellbeing support currently being rolled out across Scotland. It also has strong links to developments in primary care through the establishment of dedicated Primary Care Mental Health and Wellbeing services across Scotland.

A new Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund has been established with £15 million allocated to support mental health and well-being in communities across Scotland.

The fund aims to support adult community-based initiatives to help address the impact of distress and mental ill health caused by social isolation and loneliness, as well as addressing the mental health inequalities exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Grass roots community groups and organisations will be able to benefit from the funds to deliver activities and programmes to people to re-connect and revitalise communities building on examples of good practice which have emerged throughout the pandemic.

Mental Wellbeing Minister Kevin Stewart launched the fund at Saheliya in Edinburgh, a specialist mental health and well-being support organisation for black and minority ethnic women and girls.

Mr Stewart said:

“This funding reflects the importance we place on promoting good mental health and early intervention for those in distress and will help develop a culture of mental wellbeing and prevention within local communities. It is vital now, more than ever as we start to re-open society that we support the mental health and wellbeing of individuals. I am very keen that this benefits communities across all of Scotland.

“I was pleased to be able to visit Saheliya this morning and meet some of the people involved with running and the project, and some of the people they help.”

Background:
A range of charity-support bodies and social enterprises, known as third sector interfaces, will manage the fund in partnership with local integrated health authorities and other partners including Community Planning Partnerships and local authority mental health leads.

The Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund is part of the wider £120 million Recovery and Renewal Fund announced in February 2021 to ensure delivery of the commitments set out in the Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan in response to the mental health need arising from the pandemic.