Editors Introduction - Dundee€¦ · Advice & Information for EU Citizens Dundee City Council have...
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Editors Introduction Welcome to the twentieth issue of the Dundee Partnership E-Bulletin. Dundee recently hosted the World Community Development Conference, and I was lucky enough to be able to attend the three days of talks and practice workshops. During these three days I heard from well over forty speakers and enjoyed discussions with many more from all parts of the world, learning that many of the same issues are shared regardless of geography. The topic was ‘People, Place & Power: the soul of community development’ and this certainly came across very strongly. People are (or should be) at the heart of everything we do and every single presenter focussed on who they were working with / for. Place is a huge influence and makes what we need to do different - some places make the work harder, some easier. Power is something that exists in many forms, with the balances of power constantly shifting between and within groups. From a Scotland-wide level, legislation such as the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act of 2015 and the Fairer Scotland Duty (part of the Equality Act 2010) contribute to how we act in developing our city and our communities. Both of these encourage a shift in power, with impact on both people and place. The former enables and encourages wider community involvement through community asset transfer, participatory budgeting, and participation requests as well as requiring the Scottish Government to publish a set of national outcomes. The latter requires certain public bodies to actively consider the reduction of inequalities when making strategic decisions, something Dundee City Council has already been doing for some time. Other public bodies covered by this duty include the NHS, Health & Social Care Partnership, and Police Scotland. A great example of how people have come together in Dundee to work towards tackling inequality is our second Fairness Commission. This brought together twelve people with lived experience of poverty and twelve people with influence within their organisations. Importantly, it brought them together on an equal footing and this led to learning on both sides. Via three working groups looking at; people & money, stigma, and mental health, twelve recommendations were made and these have been incorporated into Dundee’s recently revised Fairness Action Plan. Jackie Close of Faith in Community Dundee did a great job of getting the energy and enthusiasm of the Commission across to the whole conference. A third Fairness Commission on similar lines has recently formed, and will produce its recommendations in 2020. In a workshop, I also heard from Gordon Sharp, who is part of Making Dundee Home. This project emerged from an idea by Dundee University students for a cultural exchange group based around developing the wellbeing of its members. It now operates two days a week, centred on a communal meal for around fifty people and the cultural exchange this fosters. It also facilitates access to support organisations where needed. In Gordon’s words, this group has ‘grown organically’ and ‘gives some of its members the energy to get up in the morning, a purpose, and hope’. The above are just two examples of the wide range of community development activity taking place in Dundee. I think we can be proud of what we are already achieving, knowing that we are also working hard to achieve more. If you are part of a community group or project please get in touch with us at [email protected] and we’ll happily include an article in a future e-bulletin. By sharing ideas with a wider audience, we can all help to inspire each other. Paul Davies Senior Community Planning Officer Dundee Partnership Team
Transcript of Editors Introduction - Dundee€¦ · Advice & Information for EU Citizens Dundee City Council have...
Editors Introduction
Welcome to the twentieth issue of the Dundee Partnership E-Bulletin.
Dundee recently hosted the World Community Development Conference, and I was lucky enough to
be able to attend the three days of talks and practice workshops. During these three days I heard
from well over forty speakers and enjoyed discussions with many more from all parts of the world,
learning that many of the same issues are shared regardless of geography.
The topic was ‘People, Place & Power: the soul of community development’ and this certainly came
across very strongly. People are (or should be) at the heart of everything we do and every single
presenter focussed on who they were working with / for. Place is a huge influence and makes what
we need to do different - some places make the work harder, some easier. Power is something that
exists in many forms, with the balances of power constantly shifting between and within groups.
From a Scotland-wide level, legislation such as the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act of 2015
and the Fairer Scotland Duty (part of the Equality Act 2010) contribute to how we act in developing
our city and our communities. Both of these encourage a shift in power, with impact on both people
and place. The former enables and encourages wider community involvement through community
asset transfer, participatory budgeting, and participation requests as well as requiring the Scottish
Government to publish a set of national outcomes. The latter requires certain public bodies to actively
consider the reduction of inequalities when making strategic decisions, something Dundee City Council
has already been doing for some time. Other public bodies covered by this duty include the NHS,
Health & Social Care Partnership, and Police Scotland.
A great example of how people have come together in Dundee to work towards tackling inequality is
our second Fairness Commission. This brought together twelve people with lived experience of poverty
and twelve people with influence within their organisations. Importantly, it brought them together on
an equal footing and this led to learning on both sides.
Via three working groups looking at; people & money, stigma, and mental health, twelve
recommendations were made and these have been incorporated into Dundee’s recently revised
Fairness Action Plan. Jackie Close of Faith in Community Dundee did a great job of getting the energy
and enthusiasm of the Commission across to the whole conference. A third Fairness Commission on
similar lines has recently formed, and will produce its recommendations in 2020.
In a workshop, I also heard from Gordon Sharp, who is part of Making Dundee Home. This project
emerged from an idea by Dundee University students for a cultural exchange group based around
developing the wellbeing of its members. It now operates two days a week, centred on a communal
meal for around fifty people and the cultural exchange this fosters. It also facilitates access to support
organisations where needed. In Gordon’s words, this group has ‘grown organically’ and ‘gives some
of its members the energy to get up in the morning, a purpose, and hope’.
The above are just two examples of the wide range of community development activity taking place
in Dundee. I think we can be proud of what we are already achieving, knowing that we are also
working hard to achieve more.
If you are part of a community group or project please get in touch with us at
[email protected] and we’ll happily include an article in a future e-bulletin. By
sharing ideas with a wider audience, we can all help to inspire each other.
Paul Davies
Senior Community Planning Officer
Dundee Partnership Team
Contents Success Stories
Upcoming Events
Recent Events
News
Articles
Services
Consultations
Funding
Links
Submission Dates
Feedback
Success Stories
Employability Case Studies To highlight the great work being done by
DCC’s Employability Team, four case studies
can be found here. They help to show the
difficulty of some people’s journey into work,
but that help is there to overcome obstacles.
DIWC Awards Success
Dundee International Women’s Centre had one
of their staff recognised in the ‘Leading Lights’
category at the SCVO Awards. To read more,
click here.
Upcoming Events
Family Information Service – Free Summer Activities
There’s a lot happening for children & families to get involved in over the
summer holiday period. To find out about some of the free activities, click here.
NHS – Volunteer Listener Information Afternoon
The Department for Spiritual Care are holding
an information afternoon on the 21st August at
the Royal Victoria Hospital. For more details on
what it involves and how to sign up, click here.
Evaluation Support Scotland
ESS is delivering evaluation workshops in
Dundee in January and February 2020. If you
could do with better knowledge of how to set
outcomes and/or report on them, then one of
these workshops will undoubtedly be of use.
Depending on your funder, they may even be
free! To read more, click here.
Recent Events
DIWC Celebrates 50 Years
Dundee International Women’s Centre
celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. To see
images from a recent open day and ‘back in the
day’, click here.
News
Social Security Scotland – Best Start Grants
Parents and carers on low incomes can now
apply for help towards the costs of starting
school. The Best Start Grant School Age
Payment was introduced by Social Security
Scotland last month and provides £250 for
families on certain benefits. To read more, click
here.
Leisure & Culture Dundee – Loads Going On
From the futuristic Space Chase in libraries to
Broughty Castle celebrating its 50th
anniversary, there is loads going on through
Leisure & Culture Dundee. To read more about
the above and other fun stuff, click here.
Community Growing Space
A new approach to upscale the involvement of
Dundee citizens in local growing has been
initiated. In its infancy, the potential to develop
an underused 7 hectare site north of the city for
fruit and veg growing is being explored. To read
more, click here.
Food Train Newsletter
Food Train help those no longer able to manage
independently by making hundreds of grocery
deliveries across Scotland every week, help
with some household chores and making meals,
and a befriending service. The latest newsletter
from Food Train can be found here.
Police Scotland – Introduction of Mobile Devices
In recent months Police Scotland have been
working to introduce a more digitally focussed
and enabled service and from June 2019,
members of the public within Dundee, Perth
and Kinross and Angus will see Police Scotland
officers using mobile devices as part of their
operational duties. To read more, click here.
Food Connections Newsletter
The summer edition of the Food Connections
Newsletter has just been released. This
newsletter covers topics such as public health
nutrition, weight management, food fluid and
nutritional care, and therapeutic nutrition. To
read more, click here.
Articles
Break-In Prevention Advice
Police Scotland report that break-ins to homes continue to
take place and that due to the lack of security these break-
ins were committed by opportunists. A large number of these
break-ins are easily preventable. To read about some simple
crime prevention measures you can take to secure your
property, please click here.
Advice & Information for EU Citizens
Dundee City Council have produced a handout
which includes information about the EU
Settlement Scheme, useful web links and
telephone numbers. For more information and
to request copies, please see here.
Dundee Money Matters on National Numeracy Day
Discovery Credit Union have released their new
mobile app Money Matters Quiz on Wednesday
15th May 2019 as part of National Numeracy
Day and aimed at 11-18 year olds. The new app
will help young people learn about money
management and good savings habits. To read
more, click here.
Services
Penumbra Carers Wellbeing Point Pilot
Since January 2019, our Carers Wellbeing Point
has been present in community venues across
Dundee. The pilot aims to provide an easily
accessible point of information so Carers can be
aware of what’s available to support them in
their caring role. This includes information on
services and supports in Dundee, alongside
resources that promote positive wellbeing. To
read more, click here.
Dundee Citizens Advice Bureau – Help to Claim
Our Help to Claim service can support in the
early stages of a Universal Credit claim, from
the application, through to first payment. Help
to Claim is a dedicated service from Citizens
Advice. It’s free, independent, confidential and
impartial. Our trained advisers can help with
things like how to gather evidence for an
application or how to prepare for a first Job
Centre appointment. Advice can be accessed
via telephone, web chat or face to face in the
Bureau and Job Centre Plus. For more
information click here.
Health & Work Support
Working with both employees and employers,
this pilot in Dundee & Fife started up just over
a year ago. To read more information on what
they do, click here. For their latest e-bulletin,
click here.
Dundee Citizens Advice Bureau – Financial Health Check
The Financial Health Check service is delivered
by the Citizens Advice Network in Scotland and
backed by the Scottish Government. It aims to
motivate low income families to seek financial
advice to maximize their income by ensuring
that they are not paying more for essential
goods and services that they need to and that
they are getting all the benefits, grants and
exemptions to which they are entitled. Anyone
can access this service by calling 0800 085
7145 to receive telephone advice or be
referred for a face to face appointment.
Coats n Quilts
This charity helps older people who struggle to
stay warm, particularly during the winter
months, through donations of coats and quilts.
For more information, see their flyer here, and
to make a referral, please use this form.
Rediscover Dundee by eTrike
Re-Discover Dundee is a local cycling project
with a fleet of 8 eTrikes, 2 eBikes and 1 trailer,
which aims to connect and enable older adults
and those experiencing barriers to physical
activity to interact with their local greenspaces
through cycling. This initiative was launched in
December 2018. To read more, click here.
Consultations
SFRS Strategic Plan Consultation
The Scottish Fire & Rescue Service would like
to hear your views on their Strategic Plan for
2019-22. This will help them to continue to
develop and improve their service. To read
more, click here.
Human Trafficking – Duty to Notify Consultation The Scottish Government have opened up
consultation on Section 38 of the Human
Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act
2015: Duty to notify and provide information
about victims. They are seeking responses from
community members and agencies. To read
more, click here.
Funding
Community Regeneration Fund
Allocations in May & June
Click the logo below to view these.
Families & Communities Fund
The Scottish Government have recently
announced a new Families & Communities
Fund. This will support delivery of activities
which contribute to improved outcomes for
children, young people and their families.
Applications need to be submitted before 2pm
on the 24th September. To read more, click
here.
Links
Partner Links
Department for Work & Pensions
Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce
Dundee & Angus College
Dundee City Council
Dundee Health & Social Care Partnership
Dundee Partnership
Dundee Social Enterprise Network
Dundee University
Dundee Voluntary Action
Job Centre Plus
Leisure & Culture Dundee
NHS Tayside
My Wellbeing
Protecting People Dundee
Police Scotland
Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
Scottish Government
Skills Development Scotland
TACTRAN
Tayside Criminal Justice Authority
University of Abertay Dundee
Volunteer Dundee
Local Links
Active Schools Newsletter
Amina Muslim Women’s Resource Centre
Boomerang Community Centre
Citizen’s Advice Bureau
DIAL-OP
Discovery Credit Union
Dundee Access Group
Dundee Blind & Partially Sighted Society
Dundee Carers Centre
Dundee Federation of Tenants Associations
Dundee International Women’s Centre
Dundee ‘My Life’ Portal
Dundee Pensioners Forum
Dundee United Community Trust
Family Information Services
Good Governance Award
Lead Scotland
Penumbra
Positive Steps
Protecting People in Dundee (multi-agency)
Salvation Army
Shelter Scotland
Tay Cities Deal
Tayside Council on Alcohol
The Corner
Transform Furniture
Yusuf Youth Initiative
National Links
Action for Children
Parklives
Power of Attorney Campaign
Princes Trust
Royal National Institute for the Blind
Scottish Living Wage Accreditation
Initiative
Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum
(SURF)
Visit Scotland
Submission Dates
We will issue an e-bulletin every two months. To enable us to compile articles and carry out
formatting or editing, please submit any articles to us at:
[email protected] by the dates below.
Issue # Submissions Deadline Issue Date
21 23rd August September 2019
22 19th October November 2019
23 20th December January 2020
Feedback
We welcome any feedback on the e-bulletin so that we are able to make ongoing improvements
in format and content that meets the needs of all who receive the bulletin.
Please send any comments to [email protected]
Mailing List
If you would like to be added to or removed from the mailing list for this e-bulletin please let us
know by email to [email protected]. If asking to be added, please provide
us with a full name, any agency, group or community with which you are associated, and your
email address.
We also make occasional use of the mailing list to send out additional information and Dundee
Partnership event invitations. If you do not wish to be contacted with these, please let us know.
If you know of anyone who would like to receive the e-bulletin, please feel free to pass this issue
on to them and encourage them to contact us at the above email address.
