Over £13 million to support marginalised Scottish communities

Projects helping some of the most marginalized communities in Scotland to thrive are today (THURSDAY 24 FEBRUARY) sharing in over £13 million from The National Lottery Community Fund.

A full list of all 319 groups from across the country is attached

Made possible by National Lottery players, the funding will support a wide range of projects developed by and for local people. Amongst them is Community Infosource CIC in Glasgow which is aiming to change attitudes to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). FGM is recognised as a violation of the human rights of girls and women and is an extreme form of discrimination. The practice was made a criminal offence in Scotland in 2005 but cases are rarely reported to mainstream agencies and there are no known prosecutions in Scotland to date. *

With an award of £199,943, Community Infosource CIC is introducing a new project aimed at changing long held beliefs and cultural norms by engaging and building trust with men where they gather at work, church, or in social groups.

Hassan Darasi, Manager, Community Infosource said: “The Challenging Violence Against Women Project is unique in Scotland, working with men at a grass roots level and using community languages. We can change the attitudes of the men we work with benefitting them, their families and sometimes even influencing practice in their countries of origin and we have growing evidence that our approach is effective.

“This new funding enables us to recruit and train Community Champions who will work to build trust and, once that is in place, they will start to introduce our prevention and bystander intervention programmes.

“This would not have been possible without the support of this National Lottery funding. Our aim is to improve circumstances for men, women and families in Scotland and beyond.”

It’s estimated that there are around 136,000 victims of modern slavery and human trafficking in the UK ** and in 2019 cases were reported in every local authority in Scotland. ***

An award of £9,828, Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland will help to identify and support victims in Edinburgh by working alongside the Simon Community’s Streetwork Team.

Joy Gillespie, CEO, Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland, said: “Human trafficking, the buying and selling of men, women, and children, is happening around us

daily and yet we are oblivious to it. With the support of The National Lottery, we are delighted to be able to extend our Project Light which will work with homeless organisations to identify, recover and bring to safety some of those who have suffered the most unimaginable abuse.”

Announcing the funding, The National Lottery Community Fund’s Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “This funding announced today will not only help improve the lives of thousands of people in communities across Scotland but also communities of interest who are facing a set of unthinkable circumstances and challenges on a day-to-day basis. It will help projects to inform, educate and build trust so they can begin to change attitudes which will, in time, effect real social change.

“This is all thanks to National Lottery players who are helping communities to thrive.”

The National Lottery Community Fund distributes funding on behalf of National Lottery players who raise more than £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK.

Thanks to National Lottery players, last year we awarded over half a billion pounds (£588.2 million) of life-changing funding to communities across the UK. Over eight in ten (83%) of our grants are for under £10,000 – going to grassroots groups and charities across the UK that are bringing to life amazing ideas that matter to their communities.

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk