Befriending Caithness gets £78,527 to continue its work
A LOCAL befriending service has received a boost thanks to the National Lottery.
An award of £78,527 will help Befriending Caithness to continue its work for the next three years, allowing it to deliver support to lonely and isolated people throughout the county and in north Sutherland.
The project, which is run by Caithness Voluntary Group, provides a range of services, from one-to-one sessions to arts and crafts activities and group trips.
A total of 86 befrienders provide support to 102 people, including students from Wick and Thurso high schools who see people in local care homes and Caithness General Hospital, a volunteer who visits Thurso's Dunbar Hospital to deliver the befriending service, and a group in Strathy/Bettyhill which is funded by SSE.
Welcoming the award, Angie House, the senior coordinator for Befriending Caithness, said: “We are delighted to have secured this funding which will help us to continue our invaluable service to the local community in Caithness.
It’s wonderful that funding is secured to do the ordinary things that make such a difference to individual lives.
“Our aim is to reduce social isolation and loneliness through socialising, raising confidence and self-worth, helping to bring people back into the community.
"In a world where we take all these things for granted, it’s wonderful that funding is secured to do the ordinary things that make such a difference to individual lives.”
The Caithness group is one of 29 to receive a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund for projects that will improve people’s health and wellbeing and help communities to thrive.
Announcing the funding, which totalled £3,577,529, the National Lottery Community Fund Scotland director Neil Ritch said: “All of these projects are fantastic illustrations of National Lottery money reaching into communities and changing lives.
“We can all experience feelings of isolation or loneliness, no matter our background, so it’s fitting that National Lottery funding is there to benefit everyone.
"Giving a few hours of your time to engage with someone can make an immeasurable difference to them and we are proud to support these important befriending projects.”
