Befriending Caithness gets funding boost of almost £127,000
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A project that tackles loneliness and isolation in the far north has secured almost £127,000 worth of funding to allow it to continue for the next three years.
Befriending Caithness, delivered by Caithness Voluntary Group, was awarded £66,827 from the Scottish Government's Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund.
It has also attracted £60,000 in local wind farm funding, and this too will go towards the costs of running the service over a three-year period.
Befriending Caithness matches volunteers to older isolated adults who become befriendees. It covers Caithness as well as north Sutherland as far as Bettyhill, with a mix of face-to-face visits and phone calls as well as monthly group activities.
"It's absolutely brilliant," senior coordinator Angie House said. "We're really very grateful, as are all the people in the community that we talk to when we say we've secured money to carry on hopefully for the next three years.
"We've had lots of good feedback. The befriendees and their families say there is a definite need, so the community has backed us greatly.
"It's really such a community-based project. It feels as if it is very much a part of the Caithness community, and people do like it because a lot of their relatives are the befriendees.
"It's a close-knit community, and everybody knows each other, so when people refer their family members to us I think they've got a sense of security that we will take care of them."
The Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund is providing £3.2 million to more than 50 community projects and organisations between August 2023 and July 2026. It is managed by Impact Funding Partners on behalf of the Scottish Government.
Announcing the funding package in Inverness, equalities minister Emma Roddick said: “The Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund is providing support to a range of projects across Scotland which deliver vital services in their communities."
At the same time, Befriending Caithness has been awarded £30,000 from Camster Wind Farm Community Fund and another £30,000 from Stroupster Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund, both administered by Foundation Scotland.
Decisions have yet to be announced on other funding applications. Befriending Caithness also receives donations from the community.
There are three part-time staff based in Wick who run the service and support the volunteers – more of whom are needed.
Mrs House explained: "We've got 36 volunteers and at the moment we have 59 befriendees, and we've got a waiting list – so we're always needing volunteers."
Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Angie House (angie@cvg.org.uk; 07592493048), Elspeth Manson (elspeth@cvg.org.uk; 07592493045) or Kayleigh Sinclair (Kayleigh@cvg.org.uk; 07720630698).
