Two Forth Valley Charities will be recruiting new members of staff having secured national funding from the Scottish Government.
Central Advocacy Partners has offices in both Falkirk and Stirling, providing independent advocacy and a range of inclusion services to adults and young people with learning disabilities. Their partners, KEY Community supports, also help adults with learning disabilities across the Region.
Elizabeth Findlay, manager of Central Advocacy Partners, said: “We are delighted to have been successful, especially given the calibre of the rival bids.
“The funding will allow us to build closer working relationships with all services across Forth Valley, establish themed groups for those who are looking to use services on offer and increase awareness of services that are available to people in their communities.“
The funding secured by Central Advocacy Partners in partnership with KEY Community Supports forms part of the Scottish Government’s Self Directed Support scheme and will continue until 2015. Two full-time Net Workers will be employed, delivering a Central Networks Project across the Forth Valley including the ‘Living a Life’ programme.
Central Advocacy Partners was approached by KEY Community Supports, following its successful development and delivery of the ‘Living a Life’ programme in other parts of Scotland.
Leam MacKeown, Development Manager (Participation and Social Inclusion) at Key Community Supports, said: “We developed the Living a Life programme to help people explore what is happening in their local communities, find out ways of getting involved and consequently widen their social networks. Through the programme an inclusion action plan is completed helping participants to focus on what they want to do and how they can impact on their community. The course enables people to look beyond traditional services to make friends, build their confidence and explore ways of maintaining and building existing and new relationships.”
Through Living a Life, participants have worked on a variety of locally based initiatives from gardening and woodwork to fundraising.
For more information on Central Advocacy Partners and KEY Community Supports, visit: www.centraladvocacypartners.org.uk and www.keycommunitysupports.org
Notes to editors
Central Advocacy Partners
- Central Advocacy partners are funded by Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire Councils, the Big Lottery Fund, The Henry Smith Charity and Awards For All
- During the past year Advocacy into Action and Stirling’s Quality Action Group worked with more than 200 service users
Further Information
Bob Hanlon (on behalf of Central Advocacy Partners/KEY Community Supports)
