Care provider wins substantial funding to develop innovative care services

The Scottish Government People and Communities Fund has awarded a housing and care provider with a £75,000 grant to introduce a range of projects that will directly improve the lives of older people across Scotland, particularly those living with dementia.

By successfully securing £75,000, the care provider, Bield, will channel the funding towards a range of projects to benefit more than 250 older people.

Brian Logan, Bield’s chief executive, said: “We are understandably delighted to have secured this substantial funding which opens up new possibilities to enrich the lives of so many people across our developments.”

Scotland’s social justice secretary, Alex Neil, said: “Every community in Scotland has different challenges and aspirations and there is no one-size fits all approach to tackling poverty.

“That’s why our People and Communities Fund is giving organisations like Bield the power and confidence to address inequalities in communities more effectively.”

Some seven planned projects include a relaunch of ‘Evening Care’- a pioneering scheme to provide older people with weekly social outings, as well an expansion of dementia friendly ‘bistros’.

Also on the agenda is a £17,000 bespoke sensory garden and a ‘Playlist for Life’ project, which will use familiar songs and music to help those with advanced dementia to communicate and connect with friends and family.

Kathy Crombie, communication and marketing manager at Bield, said: “The reality of this funding is that it will improve so many lives across the whole country.

“It is vitally important that older people have access to fulfilling and beneficial projects and this is very much in keeping with Bield’s ‘free to be’ ethos.” Bield is a Scottish registered charity that grew from humble beginnings, starting out with one housing development in Bo’ness and growing into a wide range of housing and services for around 20,000 older people across 23 local authorities.