News

The Forth Valley Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) and the Scottish Drugs Forum are holding Workforce Development training days via Teams during February and March.

The UK Government has launched a new initiative, working with mobile and internet providers across the UK to provide an increase in mobile data allowances for families with school aged children. The initiative is available throughout the UK, and aims to support children and young people with remote learning during the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Schools, trusts and local authorities can request mobile data increases for children and young people who meet certain criteria.

We’ve now less than a month until the Forth Valley Third Sector Conference! Taking place on Tuesday 9th February, 9:15am – 3pm, this year is the first time the event has been completely online. Along with our partners at SVE and CTSI, we’re excited to share the day with you all, from the varied workshops to the presentations from different community groups. There will also be keynote speeches from Aileen Campbell, MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Communities, and Dr Jim McCormick, the new CEO of the Robertson Trust. Tickets are £10 each.

We wanted to thank all the different groups and organisations from across Falkirk’s different sectors who attended Wednesday’s COVID-19 Third Sector Response Forum. It was fantastic to see so many people back for the first meeting of the year – an incredible 51 of you! The next meeting takes place on Wednesday 20th January, 3pm – 5pm, and can be accessed via the Zoom link, or with the meeting ID: 912 9739 1334.

NHS Forth Valley, in partnership with Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), is working to improve Early Intervention in Psychosis services in Forth Valley. They want to ensure that the voices of people with lived experience are at the heart of their work, and are inviting people to take part in virtual discussions on Early Intervention in Psychosis services, taking place on Wednesday 20th January, 6pm – 7:30pm, and Wednesday 3rd February, 2pm – 3:30pm, via Teams.

Our CVS Falkirk team is now back at work after the festive break, and in light of Scottish Government’s announcement yesterday, we wanted to highlight the structures in place to support people across Falkirk throughout this new lockdown. Lockdown will be in place across mainland Scotland until Monday 1st February, and may be extended further. People should not leave their homes except for essential reasons. We would like to invite third sector groups looking for support to attend tomorrow’s COVID-19 Third Sector Response Forum, held 3pm – 5pm via Zoom.

A message from our CEO, Victoria McRae: “As we reach the end of 2020, many of us reflect on the months gone by and we at CVS Falkirk have done the same. I don’t think any of us could have envisioned the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic would have on us. Therefore, on behalf of the team at CVS Falkirk we would like to thank you all for your dedication, commitment, hard work and most of all your compassion and kindness. You should all be very proud of your roles and accomplishments: you truly have made a difference to the people and families in your communities.”

Generations Working Together (GWT) has a series of online training modules on intergenerational practice available, available at any time and free for GWT members. GWT membership is free for everyone living in Scotland, and for international students. Current modules include “What is Intergenerational Work?”, and “Overcoming Ageism Through an Intergenerational Lens”, with “Planning Intergenerational Solutions” launching in January.