A housing association has launched a new campaign to help young people and homeless adults in Edinburgh break cycle of unemployment and poverty – through sport.
Dunedin Canmore Housing Association and Street Soccer Scotland have joined forces in the Changing Lives campaign, a bid to give hundreds of youngsters and excluded adults in the Capital the confidence to move into employment or education. The Edinburgh based social landlord says Changing Lives will help build the self confidence and motivation of hundreds of youngsters and adults, including the homeless and those with addictions or mental health difficulties, by plugging gaps in existing employability services.
To kick off the campaign, Dunedin announced it will major sponsor of the Scottish Homeless World Cup Team. Dunedin will provide a £10,000 boost to support the team, trained and managed by Street Soccer Scotland, as they head to the prestigious annual tournament in Mexico this August. Changing Lives is already delivering a raft of community projects, including personal development courses and healthy living events for communities around Edinburgh offering advice on mental health, sexual health, housing, employment and training. Under the partnership Dunedin will provide specialist accredited training as part of Street Soccer Scotland personal development and training programmes – and plans to open up volunteering, training and job opportunities to people coming through Street Soccer Scotland programmes.
Dunedin Canmore and Street Soccer Scotland are also bidding for funding to set up programmes throughout Edinburgh as part of Football Works which will be aimed at young people aged 14 – 19 who are deemed to be going into a negative destination when leaving school.
We spoke to Peter, a volunteer with Street Soccer Scotland. Peter was homeless for a few years, however he has turned his life around dramatically. He explained what he went through when he was homeless and also how he got to a point in his life where he can use his experience to help others.
Listen to our interview with Peter:
http://www.mixcloud.com/basher1969/inteview-with-peter-from-street-soccer-scotland/
For more information on Street Soccer Scotland call: 0131-652-8191 or info@streetsoccerscotland.org
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