Edinburgh charity, People Know How, set up in 2013 is to close, citing the uncertain funding landscape in Scotland.
All members of staff will be made redundant.
The charity has participated in many projects to try and connect people living in the city of all ages digitally, ensuring their social inclusion. One of the programmes they were very much involved with was All Aboard – “a canal boat run by People Know How in collaboration with Polwarth Parish Church. The boat hosts unique trips on Edinburgh’s Union Canal for community groups and organisations to improve wellbeing, socialise and discover new experiences while surrounded by nature in the heart of the city”.
The charity has put out an announcement of their closure, saying that it is with “deep sadness” that they are beginning to work towards closing the charity down.
The statement said: “In just the last few months, we have seen devastating funding cuts across the sector and a drastic shift in the funding landscape. As a result, we have seen fewer options for long-term funding, with other funders closing entirely and leaving those that remain severely over-subscribed. The Scottish Government is currently examining their approach to funding in the third sector, responding to calls from the sector for longer-term funding, unrestricted core funding, funding to accommodate paying staff a Real Living Wage and more. But as the debate continues, charities like People Know How are dealing with the reality.
“While charities continue to close, the cost of living crisis continues, the number of children absent from schools is at crisis level and support for digital exclusion is needed more than ever.
“The decline of available funds is directly at odds with the increasing need of the communities we support. Over the last few months, we have seen attendance to our digital groups and calls on our Digital Support Helpline increase. We also recently partnered with BT to provide information about the digital landline switchover, with many groups across the country eagerly coming forward to work with us on this project. And just 2 months ago, we began our Positive Transitions support in schools for the new academic year, addressing a very real need for support felt by the children, young people and families moving to secondary school.
“While we have funding for some projects, we will not hear back from our biggest funders until the end of this financial year and cannot move forward without the certainty that we will be able to support our service users and employ our staff beyond Christmas.
“Since September, People Know How has been undergoing a 30-day collective consultation process to assess its future and options to avoid redundancies, including pausing all new activities to prioritise the support of those using our services. We have also been speaking with our partners and contacts to assess options and opportunities where possible. That consultation process has now come to an end and unfortunately, we have not found a solution to save the 24 jobs and charity and have had to make the extremely difficult decision to work toward closing People Know How.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
