Dores and Essich Community

Community Resilience Briefing 22-09-23

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Dear Community Resilience Group/Community Council/Colleagues,

Welcome to The Highland Council’s fortnightly briefing for groups with an interest in local community resilience.

Community Council Elections

22 Community Councils have formed so far, with 136 Community Councils to form.

Candidate’s wishing to put themselves forward as a Community Council Member need to self-nominate themselves by completing the online form that will be available on our website. It’s simple and should take approximately 5 minutes to complete, all they have to do is submit their contact details, name of community council they wish to represent, confirm they are eligible and provide their electoral number.  In order for the Candidate to obtain their electoral number, this can be done by them completing the electoral number request form or it is available from the Electoral Registration Office by emailing [email protected] or telephoning 0800 393783. 

Deadline for submissions 3 October 2023.

Funding  

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

Bids can be made by non-profit organisations based in rural Highland communities (fewer than 1,000 residents) to organises activities that will help people of all ages secure employment or advance in their current job. Funding applications should prioritise helping vulnerable families more at risk of experiencing poverty. Deadline 2 October 2023. 

  • Highland Communities’ Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund for AdultsSupports community-led initiatives promoting and developing mental health and wellbeing or mitigating and protecting against the impacts of distress or mental ill health for people in Highland who are 16 or over. These can be new projects or for significant expansions to existing projects. This is for small-scale, grassroots community activity and most grants will be less than £10k.

Applications will be open between 29 September 2023 and midday 9 January 2024. 

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  • Applications received by midday, Friday 27 October will be assessed in November
  • Applications received by midday, Wednesday 29 November will be assessed in December
  • Applications received by midday, Tuesday 9 January will be assessed late January

Projects must start before the end of April in the financial year 2024/25.

Nature Restoration Fund

The deadline has been extended to 4 October 2023 and all projects should be completed by the end of June 2024.

The Fund has a focus on addressing the main drivers of the decline of biodiversity on land and sea. To deliver this aim, the fund has five strategic aims:

·        Habitat and species restoration

·        Freshwater restoration

·        Coastal and marine restoration/recovery/enhancement/resilience

·        Control of invasive non-native species

·        Enhancing and connecting urban and nature areas 

Welfare, poverty reduction and resilience

  • Highland Third Sector Interface Training Day – this event will be hosted on Wednesday 4 October from 9 15am – 4 45pm. Join the Samaritans, GamCare, Mikeysline, and Families Outside for a day of face-to-face training, lunch, and networking with HTSI, each session will last around 90 minutes. To register and find out more click here and contact [email protected] with any questions.
  • Fuel Poverty Staff Training – this free online training is intended to help front line staff who are responsible for looking after the health, wellbeing, and social welfare of vulnerable people. The training will include appropriate and effective advice and information on energy efficiency as well as details of help and support that is available. The training will take place throughout October and involves two sessions, part 1 delivered from 10am-12pm followed by part 2 from 2pm-4pm. See the attached document for booking information and dates. 
  • Next Steps for National Parks in Scotland – Individuals, groups, or organisations can register their interest in nominating their local area to be designated as a new national park. National parks play an important role in tackling biodiversity and climate crises and supports local communities and businesses. Registering interest will allow the Scottish Government to update interested parties with important information throughout the process.
  • CyberScotland September Bulletin – Topics this month include information on a new scam targeting jobseekers with fake job opportunities and an article explaining the benefits of hiring Neurodivergent people, the barriers that face them, and how to make workplaces more inclusive.
  • 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.
  • Energy Advice – Inverness Badenoch and Strathspey Citizens Advice Bureau offer free, impartial energy advice to householders. We 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. We can be contacted on 01463 219742 or email [email protected]

Mental Health and 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.

Emergency Planning 

Douglas Crawford
Business Analyst

Community Support and Engagement

Highland Council