Latest Event Updates
Mindful Colouring
Read on to discover how Pillar have used colouring in to enhance the lives of many…
“Mindfulness” is a bit of a buzzword in mental health nowadays, but is in fact rooted in the ancient traditions of Buddhism. Tried and tested for centuries, the art of mindfulness encourages us to slow down and focus on the present moment. It urges us not to worry about a past that cannot be changed and a future that will not be improved by present anxiety. Experiencing all that the present moment has to offer is, from this point of view, truly living, and will have numerous benefits for both our physical and our mental health. ReachOut.com lists these benefits as including less anxiety, better problem solving and sleep and greater happiness overall. Read the rest of this entry »
Pillar Kincardine
Yesterday we got to know Sara Kamrath, Service Manager Pillar Kincardine. Today, we look at what Pillar does.
Pillar Kincardine was founded in 1989 as a result of the success of “Stepping Stones” and Pillar Aberdeen’s provision of social and leisure activities for people within Aberdeen City (Pillar Aberdeen has since closed on 29th August 2010).
Pillar Kincardine’s objectives then, as now, were to provide support services for people who have experienced or continue to experience challenges in relation to their mental health and to promote mental wellbeing.
We have been providing day services continuously for 25 years. These services were developed in response to service user’s needs and have evolved over the years. New projects and initiatives have grown out of earlier ones. Read the rest of this entry »
Mental Health Awareness Week, 11th – 17th May 2015.
Since the first Mental Health Awareness Week in 2000, mental health groups have pushed topics like loneliness, anger, fear, exercise, alcohol and friendship into the public sphere.
All week, K & M Communities will be focusing on the great work done by in Kincardine & Mearns by Pillar Kincardine, founded in 1989 as a result of the success of “Stepping Stones” and Pillar Aberdeen’s provision of social and leisure activities for people within Aberdeen City (Pillar Aberdeen has since closed on 29th August 2010).
Pillar Kincardine’s objectives then, as now, were to provide support services for people who have experienced or continue to experience challenges in relation to their mental health and to promote mental wellbeing.
We thought it would be good to speak to Sara Kamrath, the smiley face who greets you at Pillar, Kincardine. We persuaded her to tell us and you a little about herself… but not in the conventional way. We wanted to dig deeper… Read the rest of this entry »
When do you expect the next bus will come?
An opportunity for you to have your say about what you expect from your bus service:
The Kincardine & Mearns Bus Forum, made up of bus users, bus operators, Community Councillors and Aberdeenshire Councillors, is a very well attended and lively meeting that always has a lot to discuss when it comes to the needs of bus users.
Kincardineshire Development Partnership (KDP) has just launched a Bus Survey on behalf of the Kincardine & Mearns Bus Forum. The survey aims to seek opinions from residents and wants to hear from you what your requirements are for a modern bus service along the route of the X7 and the various number 7 routes.
The X7 express bus route runs the whole length of the K&M Area, mainly along the coast, while the number 7 routes serve the towns and villages between Aberdeen and Stonehaven.
The Aberdeen – Stonehaven corridor has been designated as a strategic growth area by Aberdeenshire Council’s Planning Department and is experiencing a rapid increase in population. Consequently, the A90 is now a very busy road and presents a range of road safety issues as it is considered no longer safe for pedestrians crossing to catch a bus. Residents attending the Bus Forum have been asking for a circular service that will operate between Portlethen and Stonehaven and serve the intervening villages of Cammachmore, Newtonhill, Chapelton and Muchalls.
One part of this survey seeks to gauge the level of demand for such a service. The survey also seeks to receive responses on how best the bus services can meet the everyday as well as the occasional needs of the community.
The survey may be accessed online at http://www.kincardineshiredp.org/surveys.html.
The Facebook link is:
www.facebook.com/pages/Kincardineshire-Development-Partnership/1493006540951859
Paper copies of the survey are available from KDP, telephone 01569 763246
The survey runs until 31st May 2015.
Michael Morgan
Newtonhill, Muchalls & Cammachmore Community Council
Transport in Kincardine and Mearns – What’s the latest?
An overview of transport in Kincardine and Mearns by Nestrans’ Marketing and Communications Co-ordinator Lucy Johnston.
Access to Laurencekirk
What is it?
In December 2013, Nestrans commissioned an ‘Access to Laurencekirk’ study in partnership with Transport Scotland, Aberdeenshire Council and Tactran. The study is being undertaken in the form of the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) assessment, which will consistently explore potential options to address the Laurencekirk transport problems through a detailed consultation process.
Local Transport Initiatives in Kincardine & Mearns
Mearns Community Transport (MCT) runs a variety of different transport schemes, available to the residents of the Kincardine and Mearns area.
MCT believe community transport is more than getting folk from A to B. It is about social inclusion, tackling isolation, providing independence and opening opportunities.
The primary service run by MCT is the Community Minibus, which is a fully accessible minibus available for hire to all community groups and organisations in the Mearns. The vehicle is a Mercedes Sprinter minibus which can carry 15 passengers and is available for hire to all community groups and organisations in the Mearns and can be used by these groups for outings or events etc.
Get active this summer with the Ranger Service
The nights are getting shorter, the days are getting warmer and summer is just around the corner. This year get out and about, explore a bit more and improve your health and well-being at the same time, by going along to some of the Ranger Service events. The Rangers’ 2015 Summer Programme launches at Easter, with a mix of family favourites and new events for you to try across Aberdeenshire. ![ranger_logo[1]](https://kandmcommunities.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ranger_logo1.gif){kind=logo}
Ranger Service Coordinator, Fiona Banks explains: “This year we will take you along parts of our coastal path where you’ll hear tales of smugglers and shipwrecks to a background chorus of kittiwakes and guillemots. We’ll be climbing the high peaks of Bennachie with rewarding views as far as the eye can see. If you prefer a shorter walk you can discover a different side to our countryside with our ‘Wild Food Walk’ or explore the local area’s prehistoric past on our ‘Stones, Great and Small’ walk.
“For our younger visitors we’ll be delving into the depths of ponds, rummaging in rockpools and, for the brave, we’ll be venturing out after dark to discover some of our night hunters.”
For those who are keen to be hands on with supporting the Rangers programme, the Service is also looking for volunteers to help with the James Ramsay wildlife garden. All volunteers will be rewarded with a tea party and if you can’t help at this time but would like to put your name forward for other projects please email bennachie.warden@aberdeenshire.gov.uk
The full 2015 Summer Programme is available to view on the council’s website under Rangers at www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/rangerservice
Is your child’s car seat correctly fitted?
At the end of last year, a Road Safety Education Report revealed the findings of children’s car seat clinics carried out across Aberdeenshire between June and September 2014.
Out of 244 car seats checked, 78% were incorrectly fitted and 40 of the seats had major faults.
The checks were carried out as part of the Good Egg Safety campaign which provides information and advice on in-car child safety.
We spoke to Transport Safety Education Officer Lucy Cramb about the car seat clinics and asked her advice on how to fit your child’s car seat correctly.
Round Up April 2015
April 2015
Click here for full access
Do you work in?
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Do the challenges your clients face impact upon their relationships…or vice versa?
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A sober affair – Transport and the Aberdeenshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP)
For most of us, getting to the doctors or a health appointment isn’t an issue. We might drive, get a lift with a friend or family member, or get the bus or train. We might be disgruntled over the frequency of the buses, or indeed the cost, but nonetheless we would get there.
But what if we weren’t able to get a lift, or couldn’t afford the bus? We hear about how transport is an issue for the ADP and an initiative they have come up with try and address it.
The APD – what is it?
Aberdeenshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) is a collection of public bodies and citizen activists seeking to draw together interested parties to collectively tackle the issues associated with problematic alcohol and drug use and support recovery from addiction.
Key Messages
The ADP’s three key messages are:
- Addiction can affect anyone. Difficulties with alcohol and drug misuse do not tend to occur because people have been hedonistic or irresponsible. They are more likely to occur because people are trying to cope with significant difficulties in their life and may also be affected by a range of fundamental disadvantages in life, including isolation.
- Recovery from addiction is possible. People should be hopeful that with support, they can follow a pathway of recovery that leads to a happy, fulfilling and contributing life. Some of the most inspirational and serene people you can meet are those who have pursued a recovery journey.
- Stigma and inequities in access to support can inhibit recovery and make addiction worse.
What does the APD do?
Aberdeenshire ADP works with communities on issues of prevention, public protection and recovery. The ADP has an active agenda to involve and engage citizens in improving support services and contributing to their delivery.
The ADP and Transport – what’s the link?
For the last few years, a common response from citizens has been that the availability and affordability of public transport in Aberdeenshire has been a barrier to people accessing the services and support of the ADP. Not only this, but it restrains people from regular aspects of community life which are necessary to engage with the wider community and pursue a journey of recovery.
Substance misuse services aim to support people who can afford to access their services but this isn’t always possible.
How are we resolving these issues?
The ADP’s 3 community forums have tried to support people in need by providing funding for bus passes but have struggled with obtaining funding. Meanwhile, the has ADP sought to influence Transport Scotland to open the existing concessionary travel scheme for older and disabled people to include those actively working to recover from addictions. The current criteria for entitlement are here: http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/public-transport/concessionary-travel-people-aged-60-or-disability
Similar requests from a number of other ADP’s across Scotland led to Transport Scotland agreeing in October to support a pilot project in Aberdeenshire to test whether temporary dispensations to the concessionary travel schemes would result in improved engagement and recovery outcomes for alcohol and drug clients in order to influence future policy.
How does the Pilot work?
The pilot commenced on 2 December and will run until end March 2015. The pilot enables certain staff in Substance Misuse services to assess whether difficulties in accessing affordable transport are a real barrier to someone making progress on one or more aspects of their agreed recovery plan.
If so, the staff member is able to authorise the person’s application for concessionary travel and will record their deliberations on a simple spreadsheet. This data will be evaluated at the end of the pilot to assess whether the rate of engagement in recovery activities such as care and treatment appointments, mutual aid, or other activities directly related to supporting recovery has increased and whether this has resulted in improvements in individual’s recovery progress.
If we can show that access to concessionary travel support enhances people’s recovery, we hope to persuade government to change eligibility for the scheme on a permanent basis. We hope the business case will stack up and that stigmatising views about people in recovery don’t get in the way.
For more information on the ADP please visit: http://www.aberdeenshireadp.org.uk/ or follow the ADP on Twitter: @abdnshireadp
On Your Bike….
April in K & M Communities looks at transport. We thought it might be fun to look and see what others countries do. So, read on to find out how public transport Chinese style operates…..
Think we’ve got transport headaches? How do you think the most populated country in the world copes, especially when 95% of them don’t even own a car?
There are 1.3 BILLION people in China. Personal cars are a fairly recent addition to China’s roads, and thankfully so! Even with the government-limited issuance of license plates through a monthly lottery, the roads are already congested with their inability to contain such an explosion in numbers and constantly needing repair, and air pollution hangs thick. China will likely never hold such numbers like America does in percentage of the population with private cars. So for the 95% who don’t own cars, there have to be efficient, available methods to get around.
K&M Communities 