Argyll TSI
Argyll and Bute Council · 23 August 2022
Back to Helensburgh and Lomond Area Community Planning Group — 23 August 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Argyll & Bute TSI Update for the Helensburgh and Lomond Area Community Planning Group – 23rd August 2022 1. The Volunteer of the Year Awards were held in June. Congratulations to Sarah Davies who was named Regional Hero of the Year for Helensburgh and Lomond. Congratulations to local volunteers Autumn Brown, Alan Payne, Elizabeth Lambert, Alistair McKenzie, John Lewis and Margaret Horrell who were short-listed in their relative categories. 2. The TSI distributed £40,000 worth of grants for the government under the Community Based Adult Learning fund, several Helensburgh and Lomond groups were successful. 3. The TSI recently supported Welcome Fairs for the resettlement of Ukrainian Refugees in Dunoon and Oban. 75 free SIM cards were secured from Vodafone which were passed to Argyll and Bute Council for distribution to Ukrainian refugees. 4. The Scottish Government are expected to confirm the year 2 funding for the Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund imminently. Year 1 saw many successful organisations and groups in Helensburgh and Lomond receive funding. This funding has enabled them to deliver much needed support to tackle social isolation, support mental health and help build resilience. Year 2 is likely to be in the region of the original grant size of £285k. All going well the fund will be open for applications in September. 5. The new Joint Commissioning Strategy which was agreed at the Integration Joint Board meeting on 30th March 2022 – see https://www.argyll- bute.gov.uk/moderngov/documents/s184458/Cover%20Report%20JSCS.pdf enshrines the principles of three year funding for third sector organisations and co-production. Whilst the strategy is an excellent first step it will require a clear delivery plan and will need to be properly resourced. To take this further a very successful meeting on co-production was hosted by the TSI at the Inveraray Hub in June 2022 and a proposed model will be further developed over the coming months. 6. A Training Needs Analysis survey has been sent out to the voluntary sector, in partnership with the Council, and this will inform the strategy for the future provision of training for our sector over the coming 12 months. Results out shortly. 7. Excellent progress has been made on the Argyll and Bute Community Directory with over 872 organisations now loaded with full contact details and service information. The aim is to launch a first version of the directory in September. The intention is to achieve something akin to the Glasgow Helps
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directory (https://www.glasgowhelps.org/) and the Dumfries and Galloway service locator (https://dglocator.org.uk/) which are both searchable and interactive. 8. The TSI is looking to develop a pan-Argyll and Bute approach to identifying and sharing volunteers as well as to underline the distinction between paid and voluntary activity as the public sector prepares to further reduce expenditure from 2024. To advance this the TSI are planning a Volunteer Conference. The conference is likely to be in late September with a date to be announced in the coming weeks. 9. The YPG mentor and volunteer placement programme continues to deliver for Young People aged 16-24 with over 30 young people on the programme, many of which are from the Helensburgh and Lomond area. There are now 3 excellent mentors in the Helensburgh area, all making a tangible difference to the young people being supporting. Going forward, the TSI is looking to expand the principles and model of the programme to other client groups such as low-level ex-offenders, people with learning disabilities and those experiencing mental ill health. 10. The TSI Inveraray Hub is proving to be a valued regional resource and is in great demand. The Hub is available to book on the TSI website Inveraray Hub Booking - Argyll and Bute Third Sector Interface (argylltsi.org) 11. The Argyll Community Lottery continues to support local groups. £62,694 has been raised to date, with 106 good causes currently being supported.