New Connections mental wellbeing project awarded place based investment funds
Members of the Lochaber Area Committee approved funding from the Place Based Investment Fund (PBIF) to Lochaber Hope for a ‘New Connections’ mental wellbeing hub to help mitigate the harms caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This fund was set up to enable a flexible local response to address the four harms of COVID-19, which were identified as direct health harms; health impacts not directly related to COVID; societal impacts and economic impacts.
Today Members agreed to allocate £15,000 of funding from the Fort William and Ardnamurchan Place Based Investment Fund to Lochaber Hope for their New Connections project.
- The new project provides a physical hub for a wide variety of partners in Fort William Town Centre. It expands opportunities for community inclusion and directly delivers an opportunity for people to communicate with a wide range of service providers, or just between each other over afternoon tea. The space provides a safe place in the community for people to be cared for and move out of lockdown and safely back into the community, creating new connections, capturing, and maintaining the good work during lockdown and making new links with people who have come together during this time. During the 3 years of hosting Lochaber Breakfast Networking Meetings with over 60 organisational and individual members, all the feedback is that this is the most beneficial networking opportunity Lochaber Hope has had.
The Highland Council agreed at the financial budget in March 2021, a £100,000 Place Based Investment Fund allocation to each Ward for the 2021/22 financial year.
The fund is intended to enable a flexible local response to address the four harms of COVID-19 which are identified as direct health harms; health impacts not directly related to COVID-19; societal impacts and economic impacts.
The funds allocated will be managed by the Senior Ward Manager and any grants awarded of £10,000 or over reported to future Lochaber Area Committee.