Covid-19 Local Information
24 March 2020
FAO The Local Community
Covid-19 Island Resilience Communication for Orkney
With regard to the spread of the virus, COVID-19, you can find local key information and updates on the following websites:-
www.orkney.gov.uk
www.nhsinform.scot
www.readyscotland.org
Crisis/Community Care Grant Scheme
Please note the Crisis/Community Care Grant Scheme is open and accepting applications. Enquiries can be discussed with the Council’s Scottish Welfare Fund team on 01856873535, extension 2260, direct dial on 01856 886312 or submitted via email to [email protected]. The application form is availble to dopwnload from the Document Library.
Further information can be found via the following link: https://www.orkney.gov.uk/Service-Directory/S/scottish-welfare-fund.htm
OIC's Community Resilience Fund
Details
Please find below details of the Community Resilience Fund which has recently been launched by Orkney Islands Council. Please share this information locally or send to groups which may find this information beneficial. The link will take you to My Orkney but if you do not wish to register then you can access this by selecting to continue without creating an account.
Any applicant should complete the online form which will be submitted to Democratic Services.
Support for groups helping vulnerable people
A fund to assist vulnerable people during the coronavirus pandemic has been set up by Orkney Islands Council.
The Community Resilience Fund will provide support for local voluntary, charitable and not-for-profit organisations working with:
People aged 70 or older and those aged under 70 with an underlying health condition, including people given the flu vaccination each year on medical grounds.
Those at increased risk, particularly in relation to poor mental health and wellbeing.
Vulnerable isolated people and families, particularly those living in remote rural areas, families where a parent or both parents have lost their employment or where children are living in poverty.
Children and young people – particularly on creative, digital projects to provide a voice for younger members of the community.
Hardship funding provided by the UK Government is being used to establish the fund. It initially stands at £150,000 and can award grants of up to £2,000. This will be kept under review over the weeks ahead.
Council Convener Harvey Johnston said: “These are difficult times for many in Orkney and a range of organisations are working hard to assist vulnerable folk across our community.
“We want to support those efforts and so I am delighted we have been able to establish this fund. We will respond rapidly to applications for grants – our aim is to process these within seven days.”
Visit http://www.orkney.gov.uk/CV-CRF to make an online application for funding.
The Council is working closely with Highlands and Islands Enterprise to ensure there is a co-ordinated approach to providing community support in Orkney.
Corona Virus Community Support Hub – Picky Centre
The Corona Virus Community Support Hub, based at Picky is providing help, support and advice during the Corona Virus pandemic. The Hub is primarily focused on offering support to those on the shielded list. That is those who have received a letter asking them to shield at home due to their high risk of severe illness from coronavirus.
The Community Support Hub is helping shielded people with a multitude of needs and concerns, commonly:
Food supplies: Helping ensure they can get the food and essential supplies they need, identifying suppliers that deliver or arranging volunteers to do their shopping.
Medicines: ensure people have enough medical supplies and helping coordinate delivery of prescriptions
Signposting working with partner agencies and volunteers to support individual needs
Wellbeing calls: Fortnightly, or on request, check in calls to ensure they are managing and to find out if they need any help or support.
Registering shielded people for the SMS service: if they cannot do so themselves, so they can be kept up to date on developments, access priority supermarket delivery slots and request the weekly food parcel if they require them.
Food parcel - If they need it those on the shielded list can get a weekly delivery of basic groceries. A pack of groceries is designed to last one person for a week. People can order one pack or, if their household is larger, two packs. The staff at the support hub will coordinate and deliver the food parcels to those registered to receive them every week.
In addition to offering support to the shielded group the hub is also now linked to the national helpline which has been set up to provide essential assistance to those who fall into the highest risk category don’t have a network of support, or who are at increased risk if they contract Coronavirus (COVID-19). The service offers help to those who do not have family or existing community support and cannot get online and who are over 70, disabled people, receive the support of mental health services, are pregnant or receive a flu jab for health reasons.
Callers will be automatically connected to their local authority who will support them to access the service they need, such as:
• essential food and medication
• links to local social work services for vulnerable children or adults
• emotional support
• contact with local volunteer groups.
Staff from the Hub who are currently dealing with 50+ calls a day, are working closely with a number of partner organisations including The Orkney Foodbank, Orkney Ferries, local hauliers, Dial-a-bus, Tesco and many more.to ensure the most vulnerable and at risk in our community are supported at this difficult time.
Third Sector Resilience Fund
About the Third Sector Resilience Fund
The Third Sector Resilience Fund (TSRF) is a £20 million emergency fund for third sector organisations in Scotland. It is part of a £350m support package for the sector in Scotland in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The fund will support organisations across the third sector who are at risk of closure due to a sharp decrease in income or that are unable to deliver their services during this difficult period.
The Fund is delivered by Firstport, Social Investment Scotland and Corra Foundation on behalf of the Scottish Government.
Who is it for?
The Third Sector Resilience Fund is designed for charities, voluntary organisations, social enterprises and other third sector organisations that already deliver services and products but that find themselves in financial difficulties directly as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, as opposed to pre-existing financial difficulties. The funding’s primary intention is to help these organisations to stabilise and manage cashflows over this difficult period.
The TRSF is part of a range of support available to third sector organisations. Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to assess all the schemes available to them and only apply to the Third Sector Resilience Fund if this is the most appropriate for their individual circumstances.
How much can organisations apply for?
The TSRF can provide grants between £5,000-£100,000. In addition, a further £5m is available in fully flexible, 0% interest loans starting at £50,000. The fund is complemented by specialist business advice from Just Enterprise to help grant recipients maximise the impact of the financial support.
How can organisations apply?
Interested organisations should visit SCVO’s Third Sector Information Hub where all the information about the fund is available - https://scvo.org/support/coronavirus/funding/for-organisations/third-sector-resilience-fund
Wellbeing Fund
Last modified on 20th April 2020
This fund is currently paused
The Scottish Government recognises and is thankful for the crucial work third sector organisations are doing across the country to support people and communities most affected by the coronavirus pandemic. As part of the additional Government funding being made available, we are inviting applications from third sector organisations to provide vital wellbeing support to at risk groups.
The Wellbeing Fund is currently paused to allow for the assessment of applications made in the first round. The fund will open for expressions of interest again on 7th May 2020.
How much funding is available?
We will distribute up to £34 million to third sector organisations over the coming months, providing grants to organisations of between £5,000 – £100,000.
To make accessing Scottish Government funding as simple as possible, there will be no separate application process for third sector organisations to access the Food Fund. The combined total of £34 million to be distributed includes money announced as part of both the Wellbeing Fund and Food Fund.
What is funding available for?
The first round of the Wellbeing Fund is focused on providing support to organisations that can provide support to people who are facing additional barriers or have increased support requirements as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Applications should be focused on:
At risk groups with new needs which are not being met by existing services.
Providing vital wellbeing support on issues such as food, physical health, mental health, personal finances, home life and housing.
Immediate support being delivered now and over the next 2-3 months. You can apply for additional costs incurred since 16th March 2020, if appropriate.
More detail and full eligibility criteria for this round is available in the guidance for applicants. We would strongly suggest you also read the Frequently Asked Questions.
Depending on the availability of funding, future rounds may have different criteria.
How do I apply?
Complete an Expression of Interest. Round 1 closed for expressions of interest at midnight on 19th April. It is anticipated that the Wellbeing Fund will open again for new Expressions of Interest on May 7th 2020.
Foundation Scotland
Grants to Community Charities and Organisations from the Response Fund
We are providing immediate funding to support constituted community groups and charities that are responding to the coronavirus pandemic in their local community. Funding is available between £1,000 and £5,000– focussed on immediate community needs. We aim to turn around funding applications swiftly, and to keep our application process straightforward.
If you are seeking immediate community support funding - please complete the online application.
To find out more about the types of projects this fund supports, please visit our grant map. Some examples include:
mobile phone credit for a youth service provider to give to vulnerable young people so they can stay in touch
supermarket vouchers for foodbanks to hand out in place of goods as their stock becomes limited
additional cash to allow a community run shop to purchase extra stock so they can remain open or add a delivery service
funding to ensure that organisations have the right devices to support remote working to keep their operation going and deliver services online or via phone
support to allow organisations to change their approach e.g. purchasing equipment or software to allow digital delivery
Only constituted groups, with a governing document, can apply. Interested applicants are encouraged to read the fund's guidance notes and fund's FAQ.
Voluntary Action Orkney Services
Volunteering; If you need volunteers VAO can recruit.
Isolated people; The elderly or young people. VAO can organize befriending calls to them
Pen pals; VAO are looking for folk to become pen pals initially with older people in the care homes where the elderly have no contact with visitors during lock down. This could also be introduced to more isolated communities.
Charities accounts; Accounts should still be sent on time to the regulator OSCR
Furloughed scheme; Help is available to support organisations through the reclaim process.
Food pricing; We spoke about this the first week and OIC have sent out vouchers since this was discussed.
If any organisation needs help with anything please just contact Malcolm Scott on 01856872897 or [email protected]
