Supporting the people and communities of Edinburgh since 1868.
Please Note: Submissions have now closed.
We are delighted to announce that Year 2 of the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing (CMHW) Fund in Edinburgh is officially open.
There is £1.252m on offer for the second year of the Fund, which was created by Scottish Government to invest in local, grass-roots activities that support people’s mental health and wellbeing in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II we mark the loss of a mother, grandmother and great grandmother.
The Queen was someone who understood the importance of supporting others and we celebrate the many contributions she made. EVOC wishes to express condolences to everyone affected by this sad news.
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our friend and colleague Maria Arnold.
Maria passed away peacefully, surrounded by her children and family, on the morning of Tue 5 Jul after a short illness.
A kind and genuinely funny human being, Maria was known for her honesty, her principles and her commitment to fighting injustice for other people. She was first employed at EVOC in 2015, in a role focused on adult health and wellbeing. She championed people and communities with lived experience – helping inform our work and fight for improvements across services.
The impact she made was, and will continue to be, felt in the areas of drug and alcohol support and through the development of Thrive – an innovative, multi-disciplinary approach to mental health that is focused on culture change.
A Memorial for Maria
As Maria’s life, both professionally and personally, has spanned environmental and mental health causes, her family have chosen to celebrate her life by raising funds with the intention of planting a small community orchard in her memory.
The project is in its very early stages, but in the coming weeks the team at EVOC will support the development of this community-based memorial to a much-loved friend and colleague.
You can find out more about the early plans for the memorial or donate here.
Share Your Memories of Maria
If you have a photo, a story or an anecdote you would like to share – we would love to hear from you: [email protected]
Everyone at EVOC will miss Maria so very much.
Bridie Ashrowan, Chief Executive
We’re delighted to announce that Edinburgh & Lothians Health Foundation has provided additional funding to support more micro-grants (up to £300) to community organisations based across Edinburgh and the Lothians who are supporting groups and communities experiencing vaccine / testing inequality.
You can apply for funds for a range of activities and ideas, some of these are detailed on the application form, but we are open to hear about your ideas too!
Applications are now open and will be considered on a first come first served basis.
If you had previously applied to this fund to support vaccinations, you are still welcome to apply.
Submit completed applications and get more information by emailing us: [email protected]
We want to hear your thoughts on how people from Edinburgh’s voluntary sector could come together to discuss strategic issues and explore options to influence and make change.
This has historically been done through the Third Sector Strategy Group, but we are exploring a new platform/format for leaders from across the voluntary sector – charities, social enterprises and community groups – to have the opportunity to share their knowledge, experiences and ideas.
Please take a few minutes to complete an online survey by Fri 19 Jun so that together we can find an active way to make forward.
We would really appreciate all of our members, partners and colleagues taking a few minutes to complete our annual survey by Fri 19 Jun.
It is mostly multiple choice questions, so should only take a few minutes, but your answers are really important.
They will help to inform our plans for the future and measure the impact of the support we have provided in the last year.
THRE (Third Sector Human Rights & Equalities) is working with Scotland’s Third Sector Interface organisations (TSIs) to develop resources, training and networks which support third sector organisations towards taking a human rights and equalities first approach to their organisational development and delivery.
The project will also be helping to equip organisations and individuals with the skills to champion human rights and equalities, allowing the sector as a whole to challenge inequality and make a positive difference.
On Tue 19 Apr Dr Linda Irvine-Fitzpatrick took a paper to the Integration Joint Board (IJB) that agreed a further two year extension to the current IJB Grant Programme (to 31 March 2025).
Over the course of the next two years EVOC and Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership will be developing the More Good Days Public Social Partnership (PSP) which will enact the great work which has been going on with local organisations through the Edinburgh Wellbeing Pact. This will build upon learning from our ‘Learning by Doing’ Community Commissioning approach used to distribute the Communities Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund for Edinburgh as well as a range of other initiatives and opportunities.
We are delighted to announce the first wave of investment from the Scottish Government Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund in Edinburgh.
Fourteen groups and organisations have been awarded small pots of funding, totalling just over £26,000, to deliver grass-roots activities in communities across the City. The rest of the £1.255 million investment will be distributed by Thursday 31 March 2022 with more details to follow.
We are excited to announce details of the 29 grants awarded from the Scottish Government Fund to support community-based adult learning opportunities across the City of Edinburgh.
Together with our Third Sector Interface partners – Volunteer Edinburgh and Edinburgh Social Enterprise – and Edinburgh’s Community Learning and Development Partnership Adult Learning Sub Group, we have identified a range of projects and activities that deliver on the agreed objectives for this investment. These focus on digital inclusion; working with black, Asian and minority ethnic communities; increased access to childcare to enable adults to engage and improving mental health and wellbeing for learners.
