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Connecting Equalities – North Ayrshire

Working in partnership with The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT) we delivered two Connecting Equalities training sessions in North Ayrshire in September. The first session asked, ‘what does a good life look like in North Ayrshire to support good mental health and wellbeing?’ and was attended by 24 participants who lived, worked, and volunteered in the area.

Our Connecting Equalities work focuses on the rights of older people and participants either worked specifically with this age group, included them in their service delivery or belonged to this demographic themselves. During the session, people identified what was working well locally, what the gaps were and ideas on how to address them.  

The group identified some key issues facing people in North Ayrshire:  

  • Long waiting times and difficult to get medical appointments 
  • Shortage of affordable homes 
  • Rising cost of living – added strain 
  • Reduced public transport 
  • Isolation and loneliness 

They said they wanted more: 

  • Support for older people and carers 
  • Volunteering, training, and employment opportunities 
  • Information and communication about services and activities 
  • Local activities, e.g., the mobile cinema 
  • More consultation and feedback from the council  

The positive things about living in North Ayrshire are:  

  • Green spaces and beaches 
  • Community gardens, allotments, and outdoor gyms 
  • Walking and cycling paths 
  • Third sector organisations and groups 
  • Family and friends 

You can download our report summarising session feedback here. 

This was followed up by a Human Rights in the Community training session, introducing human rights principles and how to apply them to everyday practice, with attendees from 11 local organisations. TACT administer the local community mental health funding and we tailored the session to help participants apply for this funding, discussing how to demonstrate good practice around human rights principles in this and other funding applications. 

We are funded to deliver Connecting Equalities rights-based training sessions and workshops around Scotland until September 2024. If you are interested in organising sessions for your area, please contact ingrid@otbds.org by the end of June 2024.