£500,000 boost for Fife communities

The Alliance is a long-standing partnership between Fife’s four Housing Associations - Kingdom, Fife, Ore Valley and Glen - and the funding will contribute towards projects involving community benefits, rural skills training, volunteering and alleviating fuel and food poverty.

Revealing details of the funding, Bill Banks, chief executive of Kingdom Housing Association, said: “We are very grateful to the Scottish Government for the support for these innovative projects, which will potentially benefit many of our tenants and other people who live in the communities where we operate.

“Partnership working is key to any project that the Alliance undertakes as it encourages additional support and investment of resources from key stakeholders into the local communities, as well as being a joined up approach, resulting in better value for money and reduced duplication.”

The projects which will benefit are: Better Opportunities; Better Fife which was awarded £100,000 and is being led by Kingdom Housing Association’s Fife Works project on behalf of the Alliance and Opportunities Fife. This Project aims to increase the number of unemployed Fife residents having access to volunteering, work experience, employment and training opportunities and will engage with 180 people.

Fife Rural Skills Employability Project which was awarded £130,000 and is being delivered by Ore Valley Housing Association, includes the provision of theoretical and practical skills training in an environment that will mirror a workplace. The accredited training includes SQA Level 1 in Horticulture, spraying certificates, strimming certificates, tree planting & management, landscaping etc.

Living Well on a Budget which will receive £180,000 and is led by Greener Kirkcaldy, in partnership with the Alliance Housing Associations. It will tackle poverty and mitigate the impact of welfare reform in Fife, helping households on low incomes to develop the skills and confidence to: take more control of their household budgets; stay warm affordably by managing their energy use and bills better; make the most of food expenditure by planning and cooking healthy meals and wasting less food. This project will be delivered in partnership with Citizen’s Advice & Rights Fife.

Finally, the Food Works! Kirkcaldy Volunteering and Employability Project was awarded £60,000 and is also led by Greener Kirkcaldy and focuses on the inclusive activities of horticulture and food preparation as a way to engage ‘hard to reach’ participants, and will provide: good quality volunteering opportunities; building social capital and increasing the resilience of our community and giving participants valuable work experience; training opportunities giving participants the skills, confidence and accreditation to move into employment.

Suzy Goodsir, development manager at Greener Kirkcaldy, said: “Our Living Well on a Budget project will help 800 households across Fife to heat their homes affordably, gain skills in managing their finances, and make the most of their food budget. We’re looking forward to working with Citizen’s Advice & Rights Fife, the local Housing Associations and other community partners to deliver that project.

“And our new Food Works! volunteering project will give valuable skills and experience to volunteers at our community garden sites in Kirkcaldy – sessions are friendly and supportive. Anyone interested in taking part in either project should get in touch with Greener Kirkcaldy on 01592 858458 or info@greenerkirkcaldy.org.uk.”