The National Lottery Community Fund announced £150,000 to three Scottish projects supporting recovery from COVID-19 and tackling issues their leaders have lived experience of dealing with.
These awards, from the largest funder of community activity in the UK, mean Deafblind Scotland, Resilience Learning Partnership Ltd and Umbrella Lane will all be better placed to embed experts by experience in all aspects of their operations. This funding also enables The National Lottery Community Fund, as well as the wider sector, to continue learning about how people with first-hand experience can become leaders, and how funders can support them to do so.
Deafblind Scotland receive funding of £45,518 to support the delivery of their Dare to Dream 2021-2026 strategy. This will focus on building peer leadership skills and opportunities for deafblind people supporting them to working with the Scottish Advisory Group on Deafblindness (SAGOD) as well as engaging with national policy and service developments.
Isabella Goldie, Chief Executive, Deafblind Scotland, said: “Today’s much needed funding will help ensure people with dual sensory impairment can participate in decisions that can make or break their ability to access a full life and to take up their role as active and equal citizens.”
“Deafblind people are amongst the least visible in society. Many are older and unable to connect with life in their communities without specialist support or adaptations to the way that we operate our public services and businesses and we are delighted our lived experience project is being supported by The National Lottery Community Fund.”