Dear Community Group/Community Council/Colleagues,

Welcome to The Highland Council’s fortnightly briefing containing information about support, resources, and events for local communities.

To join the mailing list for this briefing please complete this short survey: https://forms.office.com/e/rSS3hXbGTa

Contents

Funding

Community Training, Events, & News

Welfare & Poverty Reduction

Mental Health & Wellbeing

Community Safety and Resilience

The Highland Council Budget Phase 2 – The public are invited to complete a second survey to help inform final budget proposals which will be considered 29 February 2024. For more information see the attached document and to take part visit: https://engagehighland.co.uk/budget-engagement

Funding 

• SCVO  is a key source of funding information for the third sector.

Community Training, Events, & News

• NHS Pop-Up Events – The NHS team based in Invergordon Hospital are holding a pop-up community event to promote local services. This will be held at the Averon Centre, Alness in the recreation hall on Thursday 1^st Feb, from 1pm – 4pm.

For more information or book a table contact: [email protected]

• Online Community Resilience Course Prospectus – The attached prospectus from the Met Office outlines the courses available for 2024. The courses are free, but it is necessary to register to receive joining instructions and handouts.
• Planning Digital Intergenerational Work – this free session will cover how digital can be used to connect generations. Sign up for here: 15th Feb, 1.30pm – 3pm  or 14th March, 1:30pm – 3:00pm

Welfare & Poverty Reduction

• Caithness Winter Support guide – Attached is a resource for various support systems in Caithness. Discover assistance with food, energy, community hubs, employment support & benefit advice.

Feel free to get in touch with the specific groups for a friendly chat about the support they have to offer. They’d be happy to provide you with more information.

• Cost of living support – Highland Council webpages on support and information to help with the cost of living.
• Help during the cost-of-living crisis – Scottish Government advice and information.
• CAB Energy Advice – Citizens Advice Bureau offer free, impartial energy advice to householders. They provide advice to help reduce household energy use, save money, and understand energy bills and support householders to manage energy debt. This can be done in person, over the phone or by video call. 0800 028 1456 will bring you to an interactive service which will connect you to the relevant service or you can enter your postcode here to find your local Citizen Advice bureau.
• Armed Forces & Veterans: Education, Health & Housing – Information to support and signpost Highland’s Armed Forces Community:

Mental Health & Wellbeing

• NHS Highland Mental Wellbeing – a collection of resources and signposts to help people of all ages to look after their own mental wellbeing. Register for the event by following the link.
• Cost of living crisis and your mental health
  Many people are feeling the strain as the cost of living continues to increase.  This resource provides information on how you can maintain your mental wellbeing at this time, alongside information on how to manage your money as bills rise.

Community Safety and Resilience

• https://ready.scot/ – Tips on steps you can take to prepare your home, family, and business for emergencies.
• Met Office Weather Warnings – https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings#?date=2022-11-04
• Met Office Weather Ready https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/weatherready 
• Scottish Flood Forecasting – Provides up to date information on when and where flooding is expected to occur over a three-day period.
• Floodline Scotland https://floodlinescotland.org.uk/ 

Douglas Crawford
Business Analyst

Community Support and Engagement

Highland Council

Dear Community Group/Community Council/Colleagues,

Welcome to The Highland Council’s fortnightly briefing containing information about support, resources, and events for local communities.

To join the mailing list for this briefing please complete this short survey: https://forms.office.com/e/rSS3hXbGTa

Contents

Funding

Community Training, Events, & News

Welfare & Poverty Reduction

Mental Health & Wellbeing

Community Safety and Resilience

Funding 

• SCVO  is a key source of funding information for the third sector.

Community Training, Events, & News

• Cost of Living Training Sessions – Fuel poverty and the Cost-of-living crisis is not new in the Highland area. Community workers have been signposting members of their community to various organisations for years. We know in this work that people fall through the cracks.

These sessions are intended to change this, and support all working in our communities to have confident conversations and understand where referrals go to and have a resource which is constantly updated.

• Planet Youth Newsletter – Planet Youth is a programme focused on improving young people’s health, wellbeing, and relationships. See theirwebsite to sig up to their mail list.
• Inverness Warm Welcome – Attached is the latest schedule listing the locations offering warmth, hot drinks, and meals within Inverness.
• NHS Health Improvement Training – The NHS offers a range of course available to community groups and third sector organisations free of charge. Most courses are held over Microsoft Teams. The courses include Health Inequalities and Poverty, Mental Health and Wellbeing, and Alcohol Intervention. More information is available in the attached document.
• Scottish Mental Health First Aid Training – this is a 2-day in person course intended to support people to recognise someone in distress and understand how to respond and support where required. More information and session details can be found in the attached document.
• Gathering Hope Event – Suicide Prevention Scotland is running an event in Edinburgh on Tuesday 23rd January for charities working in suicide prevention to come together, to network, share learning and build connections.

Full details on the event and how to register are available on Eventbrite – Gathering Hope Tickets, Tue 23 Jan 2024 at 10:00 | Eventbrite

Welfare & Poverty Reduction

• Cost of living support – Highland Council webpages on support and information to help with the cost of living.
• Help during the cost-of-living crisis – Scottish Government advice and information.
• CAB Energy Advice – Citizens Advice Bureau offer free, impartial energy advice to householders. They provide advice to help reduce household energy use, save money, and understand energy bills and support householders to manage energy debt. This can be done in person, over the phone or by video call. 0800 028 1456 will bring you to an interactive service which will connect you to the relevant service or you can enter your postcode here to find your local Citizen Advice bureau.
• Armed Forces & Veterans: Education, Health & Housing – Information to support and signpost Highland’s Armed Forces Community:

Mental Health & Wellbeing

• NHS Highland Mental Wellbeing – a collection of resources and signposts to help people of all ages to look after their own mental wellbeing. Register for the event by following the link.
• Cost of living crisis and your mental health
  Many people are feeling the strain as the cost of living continues to increase.  This resource provides information on how you can maintain your mental wellbeing at this time, alongside information on how to manage your money as bills rise.

Community Safety and Resilience

• https://ready.scot/ – Tips on steps you can take to prepare your home, family, and business for emergencies.
• Met Office Weather Warnings – https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings#?date=2022-11-04
• Met Office Weather Ready https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/weatherready 
• Scottish Flood Forecasting – Provides up to date information on when and where flooding is expected to occur over a three-day period.
• Floodline Scotland https://floodlinescotland.org.uk/ 

Douglas Crawford
Business Analyst

Community Support and Engagement

Highland Council

I work as the Volunteer Recruitment Office for Inverness, Badenoch & Strathspey Citizens Advice Bureau and we are currently highlighting the need for more volunteer advisers.  Citizens Advice Bureau has been around since 1939 and we are a volunteer led organisation.  I am sure that you are aware that there is a dearth of volunteers in the Inverness ad surrounding area, so I would like to ask you to encourage your community council to highlight our organisation. 

Perhaps you could follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn?  If you are able to put a poster up on a local community board in your area then please see attached or you can contact me and I will send you a hard copy.  Our website is invernesscab.org and we would be delighted if you could share that in any way too.

Currently I am highlighting the fact that we are hoping to encourage people to apply to volunteer by the beginning of February and before we start our next training programme at the end of February.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this email and if you require any further information from me, or if you have an idea of how to highlight what we do then please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Kindest regards

Robyn 

Robyn Teago
Volunteer Recruitment Officer
Inverness Badenoch and Strathspey Citizens Advice Bureau
29 Union Street 
Inverness 
IV1 1QA

T: 01463 237664

The South Loch Ness Access Group AGM is to take place on the 16th of January via zoom at 7:30pm.

 If you would like to receive an invite for this please contact [email protected] for an invite. All are welcome to come and to listen in to what is happening access wise in the area or raise concerns and thoughts for improvements. 

We are also always looking for volunteers who are interested in helping to clear tracks and paths locally – so please get in touch if this is you.