Health Matters has funding available now for SW Edinburgh

The council has set aside a pot of £40,000 to be paid to projects in south west Edinburgh which might improve people’s health.
Health Matters will welcome applications that focus on health, health promotion, making healthy life choices and that target a wide age range or equalities groups. Health Matters is also interested in projects that are based on non medical or community referral interventions and activities that are offered by ‘social prescribing’, which can typically include dance classes, cookery clubs or knitting groups.

This year’s application period is now open and will end on Friday 28 October 2016.

Groups can apply for grants of up to £5,000 each to be spent on projects that will benefit people in the South West Neighbourhood Partnership area.

Councillor Maureen Child, Convener of the Communities and Neighbourhood Committee, said: “Health Matters is a great opportunity for local projects to bid for funding to deliver projects that matter in the south west area.  Studies have shown that social prescribing is seen as a ‘more than medicine’ approach and the Health Matters initiative presents the opportunity to offer alternative options to patients, looking at both the clinical and social elements.

“Schemes like Health Matters continue to be exceedingly popular, allowing local people to make real decisions about priority activities in their community.”

£20,000 has been allocated from the Neighbourhood Partnership and the rest match funded from the Scottish Government’s Community Choices Fund.

Adopting a participatory budgeting approach to the allocation of funds, projects will be voted for by the local community later in the year.

You can find information on how to apply or details if you would like to speak to someone about your project on the Neighbourhood Partnership website.