Midlothian Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund goes live this Monday
We’re pleased to announce that the Midlothian Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund will re-open for Year 2 applications at midday on Monday 17th October. Our local guidance documents will be released then as well, along with application forms for three separate grant streams.
The Fund, which has been issued by the Scottish Government to every TSI across Scotland, is being used to promote mental health and wellbeing through community based activity led by local third sector organisations and voluntary groups. TSI’s will distribute the Fund to these other organisations over the next few months.
The Fund has a strong emphasis on collaboration, capacity building and the development of creative projects that can work at a very grassroots level, together with local people. It is being overseen in Midlothian by a team of staff and volunteers from the TSI, Midlothian Council, Health in Mind, CAPS Collective Advocacy and Midlothian Health and Social Care Partnership.
In Year 2, we will be looking out for project proposals related to themes including suicide prevention (particularly younger men), bereavement/loss, trauma, community transport and accessible spaces. The use of creative approaches such as the arts, sport, or physical activity is very relevant and could even be the main vehicle for project delivery, so long as clear links are made to mental health and wellbeing outcomes. The Fund is geared towards those groups that are most at risk, including people from black and minority ethnic communities, LGBTQ+ people, and those living in poverty.
This is a great opportunity for people in communities to turn ideas into reality by sourcing some new or additional money to get things going. If you’ve got a proposal for how the mental health and wellbeing of people in your community could be improved, get in touch for a chat to see if it would be worth applying. More information about the Fund in Midlothian, and the Year 2 guidance for Midlothian, can be found here.