A further £15 million has been awarded for the second year of the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund to support mental health and wellbeing in communities across Scotland, the Scottish Government confirmed on Saturday (7/5). The funding was launched in October 2021, and it has helped nearly 2,000 community projects to deliver activities and programmes in its first year in Scotland.

VASLan, Third Sector Interface for South Lanarkshire, is proud to continue taking the role of funding lead for the South Lanarkshire area. And we will continue to work with local partners in managing and distributing the funding to organisations and community support groups that promote and develop mental health and wellbeing.

In 2021/2022, the first year of the funding, VASLan managed to allocate over £1 million to 100 organisations across South Lanarkshire. East Kilbride Youth Disability Sports Club (EKYDSC) is one of the organisations that successfully secured a £5,000 grant in the year-1 of the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing fund. East Kilbride Youth Disability Sports Club is a charity that encourages and promotes participation in sport and recreation for young people with special needs.

In a statement to the media, EKYDSC Chairman Len Richardson said:

“We are so grateful to VASLan for this fantastic support, which enables us to maintain our much-needed community service.

“During the pandemic, our normal fund-raising activities have been severely curtailed, and this grant allows us to continue to deliver all our services throughout 2022.”

VASLan Organisation Spotlight: East Kilbride Youth Disability Sports Club

In Rutherglen, the Busy Bees, an activity group aimed at older people who live in Rutherglen and in surrounding areas, successfully secured a £6,454 in the first year of the funding.

Chairperson Maureen Clark said:

“We are all absolutely over the moon and excited!

“We are doing a patchwork quilt project with the funding, involving a few of the ladies. We will start the programme as soon as we pick and purchase all materials.”

The Knitting Group at The Busy Bees in Rutherglen

Steven Sweeney, Chief Executive of VASLan, said:

“In year 1, the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund have been a huge success, both in South Lanarkshire and across Scotland. Fantastic work from the Third Sector Interface (TSI) Network has allowed 2,000 third sector organisations and partnerships to be supported to improve the mental health and wellbeing of adults within their neighbourhoods and communities, with 100 of these occurring right here in South Lanarkshire.

“The impact of the projects is already visible within our communities, we look forward to building on the learning of this experience and utilising the resource in year 2 to make even more of a difference for the people of South Lanarkshire, tackling stigma and discrimination along the way.”

VASLan look forward to working with the third sector organisations and community groups in 2022/2023 to support many projects and programmes that focus on mental health and wellbeing of the people in South Lanarkshire.

More information about this fund will be published in a separate announcement on our website and social media, alongside details of eligibility, criteria, and the application process.

Read the full statement from the Scottish Government:

https://www.gov.scot/news/gbp-15-million-for-second-year-of-fund/