Upcoming Events of Faith in Community Dundee

Funding Information

 

Rosa’s FGM Small Grants Programme

 

Rosa is proud to announce a three-year small grants programme to tackle Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the UK. Funded by Comic Relief, the grants of between £500 and £5,000 will be available to voluntary and community organisations across the UK. The grants will help funded organisations to:

·         become more confident, more knowledgeable and more skilled in tackling FGM within their communities;

·         improve their skills in engaging with, and lobbying, statutory bodies to encourage appropriate responses to FGM;

·         contribute to a unified movement across the UK bringing together a range of organisations engaged in tackling FGM.

 

Grants will be available for training, mentoring, research, networking and delivering advice and support services. The first of five funding rounds will open on Tuesday 27 August and will close to applications on Monday 30 September. Round two will launch in mid-December. Application forms and guidance notes are available upon request.

For further details please contact Rosa at FGMsmallgrants@rosauk.org

Dream Fund 2014

 

This year's Dream Fund is now open for applications. Organisations have until September 20th to submit a one page summary outlining the proposal for their 'Dream' project. Registered charities and community organisations in Scotland, England or Wales can join forces to apply for up to £250,000 to deliver a new and innovative project up to 24 months in length that meets one of the following funding criteria:

1.    Encourage healthy living

2.    Social Enterprise

3.    Environmental Sustainability

 

For more details, click here - http://www.postcodetrust.org.uk/dream-fund.aspx

Voluntary Action Fund – Volunteering Support Cluster

 

The Volunteering Support Cluster grant scheme supports clusters of four to five voluntary and community organisations in Scotland to: Create new or enhanced volunteering projects. Increase the diversity of volunteers, especially those from disadvantaged groups. Improve opportunities, skills and personal development through volunteering. Enhance their services and improve their capacity to deploy, support and train volunteers. Grants of up to £30,000 are available to fund a Volunteer Co-ordinator/Manager (or similar role) who will work across the cluster to help develop volunteering opportunities, management and practices. Applications are invited from organisations with an annual income of under £250,000, although priority will be given to those with an income under £100,000. The Round Two deadline for applications is 5pm on 31 January 2014. For more information, please visit http://www.voluntaryactionfund.org.uk/   Volunteering Support Grant   Background - The Volunteering Support Grant (VSG) offers funding to third sector organisations to create new or enhanced volunteering projects, increasing the diversity of volunteers, especially those from disadvantaged groups, and improving opportunities, skills and personal development through volunteering. The grant also supports third sector organisations to enhance their services and improve their capacity to deploy, support and train volunteers. Funding of up to £10,000 is available for up to 12 months activity. VAF particularly welcomes applications from organisations that have little experience of volunteering.   Eligibility criteria - To be eligible to apply for a Volunteering Support Grant applicants must be:   A Third sector organisation (voluntary organisation or community group), whose Board of Trustees or Management Committee are predominantly volunteers; Working in Scotland with an annual income of below £250,000 in their last financial year; and Organisations that can start the project within 10 days of receiving funding. Organisations do not need to be registered charities, although their constitution/set of rules should make clear that funds will only be spent on purposes established in the constitution, and not distributed amongst members. To know more, please contact our Volunteering Team on 01383 620780 or VSFenquiries@vaf.org.uk.   Comic Relief – UK Grant Programme   Objectives of the Scheme - Comic Relief is committed to bringing about a just world, free from poverty. Comic Relief’s grant making strategy is based on the following themes: Better futures. Healthier finances. Safer lives. Fairer society. Available Funding/Support - Grants of over £10,000 are available. There is no set upper limit but most grants are expected to be for between £20,000 and £40,000 per annum. A small number of larger grants may be made but only where the work has either regional or national significance, is delivered by a number of partners or is clearly breaking new ground. Grants are made for a maximum of three years. Comic Relief will only consider one proposal from an organisation at a time.   Applications may be submitted at any time. For more information, visit their website: http://www.comicrelief.com/

 

Other News

Nilupul wins Heritage Lottery Fund support

 

Nilupul Foundation, a charity based in the heart of Dundee in Reform St, has received £44,400 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for WHA’S DUNDEE.  Led by young people, the Wha’s Dundee project will celebrate and preserve the unique and diverse migratory history of Dundee’s ethnic minority population, investigating just what it means to be Dundonian in 2013.

In collaboration with  other local organisations, (The Shore, Hot Chocolate , DEAP, the Macara Youth group at the Dundee international Women’s Centre (DIWC) and the Yusuf Youth initiative (YYI)), local young people are learning film making, and interview skills to help them gather together these fascinating personal histories which will be at the heart of a new documentary film and digital media archive to be showcased on November 9th at the Hannah Maclure Centre, Abertay University during the  5th NEoN Digital Arts Festival running from 2nd-9th November 2013.

 

The ‘Wha’s Dundee’ project will run throughout the summer and young people interested in getting involved can find out more by contacting Julie on 01382 872020. www.facebook.com/whasdundee.

Change Makers – A brand new social enterprise project in Dundee

 

Change Makers is a brand new Dundee social enterprise project which aims to inspire and empower young people, particularly from the Black & Ethnic Minority background to make a difference to their community through campaigns. The idea is to ‘Think Change. Promote Change and Be Change’. Everyone wants to make a difference and resolve the world’s problems, so Change Makers gives young people an opportunity to be heard and to showcase their views to the community. Along with helping to make a difference, Change Makers helps give confidence to young people through personal development. Change Makers helps young people find the right kind of training, volunteering and employment opportunities.
 

At the moment, Change Makers is promoting the One World Week campaign, which although a global initiative, is hoping to inspire the Dundee community and its residents to make a global difference but at a local level. Change Makers hopes to communicate with various different parts of the Dundee community, whether that is charities, youth groups and community centres to hold a series of events and activities which raise awareness on the issues of local and global poverty, environment and global injustice.  One World Week takes place on the 20^th-27^th Oct this year.

NHS Tayside’s first Community Chaplain in Dundee

 

As of the 3rd of June 2013 NHS Tayside Department of Spiritual Care employed their first community Chaplain for Dundee, Alan Gibbon. In Dundee the Community Chaplain has responsibility for Chaplaincy in Mental Health; Children with Complex Needs; Chaplaincy in GP’s Surgery’s under the “Do You Need To Talk?” programme and developing the service of community Chaplaincy in Dundee.

Alan is keen to get to know community projects in Dundee and would welcome the opportunity to come along and introduce himself and to explore the possibility of how you might work together in partnership and collaboration.  Alan can be reached on alangibbon@nhs.net or by calling 07917183773.

A little background - Alan was born and bred in Dundee and after a time working as a welder and in insurance Alan decided to pursue a career in Ministry.  He spent a year at Dundee College in 1996 before studying Theology at the University of St. Andrews graduating in 2000.  He did further training with the Congregational Federation being recognised on their Roll of Ministry in 2002. 

Alan was ordained into Perth Congregational Church in August 2000 where he ministered for 2 years before moving to Knightswood in Glasgow in September 2002 where he ministered for a further nine years.  As of July 2013 Alan has become a minister of the United Reformed Church. During this time Alan developed a keen interest in Chaplaincy through his work with the schools. 

Alan first worked with NHS Tayside as the part-time Chaplin to Blairgowrie Community Hospital in October 2010 before taking up the full-time post as Chaplain at Rachel House Children’s Hospice in Kinross in July 2011.  He has now returned to NHS Tayside as of June 2013.  In 2013 Alan completed the Postgraduate Certificate in Healthcare Chaplaincy at the University of Glasgow and he is now going on to study for the diploma.

Lord Provost to unveil new Peace Pole for Dundee

 

A weekend of special community activities and events have been planned to celebrate International Peace Day this year. Events will also highlight the success of local community-led initiatives which work to address inequality and suffering in the city. Festivities begin as darkness falls on Saturday 21^st September with a Light Projection in the city square sharing a very unique message of peace.

The highlight of the weekend will be the public unveiling of a new Peace Pole by Dundee’s Lord Provost, Bob Duncan, in the city square at 3 pm on Sunday 22^nd.  The Pole will be a lasting monument to the shared wish for world peace from the people of Dundee. The unveiling will be accompanied by a peaceful reflection led by local Buddhist teacher and interfaith champion Lama Jiga and the celebrations continue with a stunning World Peace Flag Ceremony.   

 

The planting of a Peace Pole in Dundee has long been championed by local Peace Day organisers and community charity, Nilupul Foundation, Dundee Interfaith Association and many other local community organisations and faith groups and the long awaited pole arrives in the city this year with the full support of Dundee City Council. Commenting on this year’s events, Dr Julie Wardrop of Nilupul Foundation said: “We are thrilled to be finally planting a Peace Pole in Dundee and we hope that all of this year’s Peace Day events will be an inspiration.  At a time when Dundee is transforming physically and culturally, these events symbolise fresh hope for the future of the city and its people.  May Peace Prevail On Earth”

IF you would like to volunteer at this year’s event please contact Julie at Nilupul Centre on 01382 872020 or e-mail: info@nilupul.org.

Passage from India and the Priority Areas Committee win EAPN Award

Passage from India and the Priority Areas Committee of the Church of Scotland were one of the three organizations that won the European Anti-Poverty Award (EAPN) 2013 in the NGO category for Transnational Learning & Inspiration. They will be presented the award in a ceremony on September 30, 2013 in Brussels. The Passage from India project started with a visit to India by 13 women from 7 deprived communities from Glasgow where they visited self-reliant groups. Since their return they have formed themselves into Self-Reliant Groups in their home communities.  

Self-reliant groups are autonomous groups based on the principles of self-help, solidarity and collective enterprise. They are usually small groups of women who aspire to change their socio-economic circumstances. They initiate small microfinance schemes to support members of the group. As the groups have grown and extended, a lot of training and mentoring has been part of the approach to develop personal empowerment, self-confidence and economic aspirations of the women. Currently, there are more than 50 such groups across Scotland, involving over 350 women from deprived communities and they have formed an association.

Big Lottery – Support and Connect Fund supports the Council and four local projects in Dundee

There were 59 projects across Scotland funded to the tune of £9M by the Big Lottery Support and Connect Fund recently. 

Dundee City Council has been awarded £339,237, which will be used to address the impacts of Welfare Reform.  In response to growing hardship, the project will create a Task Force of 7 officers, a team of frontline, multi-skilled staff, working in local communities, to address the key issues people face. The aims of the project is to (a) provide early intervention and local support to mitigate impact on existing advice agencies, reducing number of basic enquiries (SNS Level 1) they receive, enabling them to focus on more serious ongoing case work – addressing growing issues of supply not meeting demand and (b) ensure a joined up approach to supporting people through welfare reform, where possible in their communities.

Four other projects in Dundee have also been funded; the detail is as follows -

Transform Community Development - £128,560 - Funded through Support and Connect this group will expand on their current Fareshare project to allow them to deliver food to individuals as they currently only provide to organisations and charities. They will build on relationships with Local Authority Housing and Social Work Departments to ensure they reach hard to reach groups across Dundee.

Dundee North Law Centre - £169,687 - Funded through Support and Connect, with 20 months funding the centre will develop their Fighting for Forgotten Families project, supporting vulnerable families on low incomes affected by welfare reform. Support includes welfare advice, employment tribunals, weekly family support activities and joint working with a range of organisations/agencies. They are talking about supporting over 5,000 families.

Deaf Links - £110, 263 - Funded through Support and Connect this group’s 'Connect Hear Advocacy Project' will provide a dedicated welfare benefit and financial advocacy service to support 100 deaf and deafblind people in the Dundee, Angus and Perth & Kinross local authority areas (Tayside) who are experiencing hardship due to welfare reforms. They will receive specialist support to enable them to have equal access to mainstream support services.

Perth CAB - £288,104 - Funded through Support and Connect this Citizens Advice Bureau will lead a partnership project with Angus and Dundee CABs to expand their welfare advice services, provide outreach clinics and provide home visits. They will also link up with 12 other partner organisations.

Hear about the impact of Welfare cuts through SCVO Welfare Reform Group

 

In recent months, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has been bringing together representatives of a number of different organisations working alongside people experiencing the impact of welfare cuts. The overall picture is, according to many within the Group, ‘pretty grim’. The Group would be very interested in hearing from faith groups working in local neighbourhoods where they are encountering similar or different issues as we try to raise awareness of just how bad things are becoming for some of our very poorest citizens and challenge government – at all levels – to make changes. You can make contact through Martin (e: mjohnstone@cofscotland.org.uk; t 0141 248 2905).

FiCDundee News

Beckys back!

Our Development Worker Becky Stojanovic has returned to the FiCDundee team after being on maternity leave for the past year. Her little girl is now 14 months old and full of mischief! She says that she is enjoying being back, and it is especially exciting to see how projects tackling poverty have started/developed over the time she has been away. She works part-time, usually on Mondays and Tuesdays.

 

Annual Gathering

                  Readings from Buddhist faith tradition and thoughts on poverty by Lama Jiga

      

On the 27^th June over 70 people from faith groups and projects across Dundee came together for the FiCD Annual Gathering. It was a great event, with highlights including readings from different faith traditions, art, music, stands, and an opportunity to hear about the Poverty Truth Commission.

The gathering heard from representatives of five different faith traditions who spoke about what their tradition has to say about poverty and how they are called to respond to it. There was an overwhelming message of how all faith traditions are called to help those who are suffering because of poverty and work for a more just society.

                                               Representatives of the Attic Youth Project

Lunch provided an opportunity for people to speak to others as well as to visit stands displaying the work of some of the projects initiated by faith groups in Dundee. People also had an opportunity to contribute to ‘Brilliance in brokenness’, a project that uses silk textile art to capture some of the elements of brilliance found in the lives of people living in some of Scotland’s most disadvantaged communities. If you would like to see it the finish article will soon be hanging in the FiCD office.

Following lunch we heard from the Poverty Truth Commission. Their motto is ‘nothing about us without us is for us’ and they bring together those living in poverty in Glasgow with decision makers to help create a more just society. We heard first hand from Ghazala Hakeem, a lady living in one of Glasgow’s most deprived areas who had experienced empowerment through her involvement. We then moved closer to home and heard from a representative of the Dundee Poverty Alliance Group and their input into the Dundee Councils Fairness Strategy. Many people have since shared with us their interest in the work of the Poverty Truth Commission and if you would be interested in being involved in exploring a similar initiative in Dundee then please get in touch.

A reflective song by a young person from the Hot Chocolate Trust drew the gathering to a close. We are very grateful to them and to all who contributed to the gathering, including those that read and those groups that put together stands displaying their work. It is always exciting to bring together people from Dundee who are seeking and acting for change in the cities communities.

Update on DDI Participatory Action Research

 

A group composed by Dundee Drop In (DDI) organisations and service users are developing an action research project in collaboration with the University of Dundee. The research aims to identify gaps and needs of DDI users and provide evidence for advocating as well as projects to improve the life experience of vulnerable people in Dundee. At this stage the group is exploring the key topics for the research. Dr Fernando Fernandes who is collaborating with the project considers that the participatory dimension is a key element of the project. According to him - ‘This is not only about a research. This is about an inclusive and reflexive process in which everyone’s experience and knowledge is considered. The project will increase capacities and at the same time will produce evidence to improve our understanding of the challenges marginalised people are experiencing.’ 

Reflection

                                Maureen Riddel, Member, Justice and Peace/SCIAF Group

The Justice and Peace/SCIAF group at St Joseph’s in the West End of Dundee was set up more than 25 years ago. In that time it has undertaken a wide range of projects - but two strands have been consistent.

One strand is the weekly soup run that the group has done for most of those years to a unit for homeless people. Even during the economic uptimes the soup was much appreciated.

The other strand has been fairly continuous fund-raising for the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF). SCIAF and her sister organisations work with local communities across Africa, Asia, and Latin America to fight against injustice and to help people of all religious backgrounds to free themselves of poverty. The St Joseph’s group made contributions to SCIAF’s emergency relief funds for Haiti and the Horn of Africa. In

Scotland SCIAF campaigns with other organisations to tackle the root causes of poverty and injustice as in the IF campaign - “Enough food for everyone in the world IF . . .”

SCIAF works very closely with the communities it supports and from time to time its supporters get the opportunity to visit the projects. One such visit was made by Nick Marra of the St Joseph’s group.

“I remember we did a variety of fundraisers for a project in Asia - supplying livestock and fruit trees for indigenous people who were being pushed off their ancestral lands by multinational banana companies.” There was a real risk not just of hardship but that the indigenous people would lose their land, their culture and lifestyle - their very existence.

A visit left a deep and lasting impression on Nick. He visited a women’s co-operative - “The pride in their achievement, of opening a village store, shone in the women’s faces. Scottish people had made this possible.

“Shortly before coming home, we stayed with tribal people in the highlands of Mindinao. I slept on the floor of a hut, just above the pigs. The hospitality and generosity of the people was humbling. As we ate our evening meal the village leader told how his people were tired of moving from place to place losing their land to foreign people - and then his face brightened as he said that other people had come and given the village livestock and fruit trees to help them settle where they were.”

With both these strands of work a small contribution is being made to sustain individuals and communities - and from time to time a glimpse of how we as a society are part of the problem as well as a necessary part of the solution.

Feature Project – Parish Nursing at the Steeple Church, Dundee

                                    Barbara McFarlana (left) and Davina Dickson (Right)

                                         Interviewed by Varsha Gyawali, FiCDundee

                                   

Recently I met with Barbara McFarlane and Davina Dickson, parish nurses with the Steeple Church Dundee. Parish Nursing ministry provides whole person health care through the local church.

I was keen to learn more about parish nursing so I posed a few questions to Barbara and Davina.

What exactly is a parish nurse  and what role do they play within the Parish?

A parish nurse is a Christ centred registered nurse, who works within the church alongside the ministry team. The roles of a parish nurse are many and varied. This can involve health education, counselling, bereavement support, referring people to appropriate healthcare professionals, networking, training volunteers, advocacy  and some parish nurses administer sacraments. A parish nurse does not divorce the physical care from the spiritual they are intrinsically linked, inclusive of spiritual, physical emotional and social needs.

Is this ministry world wide or just confined to Scotland?

No. Parish Nursing is a world wide organisation,. It started in the USA in the 1980's and came to the UK in 2004. There are over 80 Parish Nurses in the UK, nine in Scotland, the numbers continue to grow.

Tell me about your work and how the project started?

Barbara: I first was introduced to Parish Nursing in 2006 through someone in the Church. What I heard really spoke deeply to me and I felt God challenging me to become involved. I shared this with a few close friends who prayed about it with me. I then approached the Minister and the congregation of the Steeple Church, they too prayed and supported me.

So in 2008 the Parish Nursing Project commenced in the Steeple Church.

The project was initially set up to promote health check-ups. However slowly but surely God opened my eyes to the needs of people on the streets. I started by chatting to them, offered coffee and sausage rolls, gained their confidence and eventually invited them to the Steeple Church for health check-ups.

This evolved, we now have outreach clinics, on a Monday and Thursday from 2.00pm to 3.30pm. At these clinics we provide a warm safe environment for vulnerable people to come to. We provide a warm meal, and if necessary clothing, toiletries, even the occasional sleeping bag for those sleeping rough.  The NHS Health and Homeless team and a mobile dental unit attend on Monday, Lilly Walker Homeless Prevention team attend on Thursdays, working together we provide a wide range of services and support both immediate and on-going.

We are able to do this because of the support we receive from the Church of Scotland, Steeple Church, a local butcher and coffee shop who donate food.  But none of this would be possible if we did not have our volunteers, an amazing dedicated group who come from a variety of backgrounds and ages.

Davina: While all this was going on with Barbara in Dundee, God was busy preparing me in N Ireland. I felt that God was calling me to come to work in Dundee, my previous work and life experience encompassed much of what parish nursing entailed. On completion of the parish nurse course I successfully applied for the parish nurse position in the Steeple church in 2011.  My position is part-time. As well as working with the drop in clinics I partner with the Hot Chocolate project which is a group working alongside young people in Dundee.

How is the project progressing?

Davina and Barbara:

It is growing. In 2012 we had 2210 attendees compare with 650 in 2010.Not only is the attendance increasing so to is our involvement within the community.

A very important link with other agencies was birthed in 2012 out of a simple conversation about resources and who was providing what services in Dundee for vulnerable people. This led to the formation of the Dundee Drop in network (DDI) comprised of a range of Christian churches/organisations, secular groups, statutory, bodies( NHS and Community police) and Hillcrest housing. This group meets quarterly to support, inform and share.

From this group came the publication of a pocket friendly weather proof leaflet detailing the weekly services and service providers for Dundee Drop Ins.  This leaflet is widely circulated in Dundee.

Barbara was invited to share about the Steeple Project and the DDI Partnership with the Health Inequalities Research Group in Dundee University. Dr Fernandez was present at that meeting, he was very impressed by the talk and asked to be introduced to the DDl group.

As a direct result of this contact we are in the early stages of a participant research study. We hope to explore, with the involvement of the folk who use the DDI facilities how best to bring about sustainable changes which may improve the quality of their lives.

FICDundee carried out a needs gaps analysis relating to the DDI group, and based on the findings, a Participatory Action Research has been initiated now along with University of Dundee -  the research aims to identify gaps and needs in service provision for the DDI users and provide evidence for advocating and improving the life experience of these vulnerable people.

What is the connection of your project with Faith?

It is very important to draw alongside people, once a relationship is formed then it is possible to sensitively share our faith and to tell them about God who loves them completely, absolutely and unconditionally. We do not preach we just drawn alongside, accept the person for who they are.

What do you think has been the impact of your work?

It is hard to quantify the impact as some of it is not visible. However we believe and do see evidence that our work has improved the health and well being of vulnerable people in Dundee as well as creating an awareness in our community of health and social issues.

What have been some of the main challenges for your project?

Both nurses feel the problems that they encounter are multi-factorial. They spoke of how people are finding it difficult to cope with the benefit changes and the bedroom tax, so adding more stress to those who are already marginalized. Limited resources, whether volunteers or finances, can sometimes be challenging for Barbara and Davina.   

They expressed that they can become tired and discouraged at times, especially when people who have made progress in improving their lives slip back. When this happens they found the support offered within the church family and each other invaluable. They emphasized that they do not give up on “our folk”, we simply just pick up and start again.

What do you think has made the project accepted by those it  is trying to serve?

One word TRUST!

Explaining their relationship with the people they serve, the Parish Nurses said:

We are respected as nurses, as professionals, but more importantly our folk see and experience our care for them; having been in a position of providing not only food, personal healthcare, been to visit in hospital, prison, court, sat on the pavement and listened they know we care and trust grows. In their own way they become protective towards us. We are not naive we understand the grip addiction has on their lives and how difficult it is for them to cope with day to day living. We choose to show compassion and love because of our faith in God.

Any message for those who are planning to start similar projects like yours?

·         Start small and take time to prepare before setting things up.

·         Identify gaps before you start any initiative, there is no point in duplicating work.
·         Network  Both within your own organisation and  the community
·         Understand  and accept your strengths and weaknesses
·         Get in contact with the DDI group.
·         Be patient and resilient.
·         Be resourceful.
·         A good sense of humour goes a long way!