The Care Van operates with the support of local churches in Perth, Holy Trinity, St John’s Episcopal Church and St Marks, Letham. The outreach model reduces barriers to accessing support whenever possible and is available to all. The Care Van brings community and support to those in Perth who need it. Every Wednesday the Care Van is located at St Catherines Square and St John’s Episcopal Church, strategically located near multiple temporary accommodation hostels. During the winter months, this stop with St John’s operates as a warm space. In July 2024 the service expanded to the Letham area, as it was identified as an area where one-to-one support often took place. This stop has been in demand from the outset, with 415 access to support since launching.  

Swarthick, our Pioneer Coordinator who runs the Care Van, has worked with people experiencing homelessness in Perth for over a decade, and he was highly involved in shaping the service of the Care Van to ensure it was addressing local needs. There are several well-established organisations in Perth who provide a meal for those who need it, but we identified a serious lack of outreach and support for transient individuals struggling with homelessness and other complex needs. Our Care Van is helping to fill this gap. The demand for Swarthick's time and assistance since he initiated the Care Van in 2021 is further evidence of the need. He supports over 1,500 presentations each year through the van and through those connections, he assists around 60 people with more targeted, one-to-one support. And last year, the demand for one-to-one support was much greater, in large part due to the Cost-of-Living Crisis. A local resident himself, Swarthick has become well-known in the community, and he is often stopped by service users wanting support on visits to the supermarket or walks along the high street in his free time. 

Two examples of the collaborative work done by our Pioneer Coordinator and volunteers: 

During our regular care van stops, we met Cindy. She was quite shy and hesitant to approach the van at first, but after a lot of reassurance, she found the confidence to approach the van and accept some support. She was suffering from the consequences of a traumatic and abusive marriage breakdown, and she didn't know where to go for help. Over a few weeks, we were able to signpost her to various organisations, and we offered one-to-one support whenever she needed. Remarkably over a period of 8 months, Cindy built her confidence enough to find work. She also moved out of social housing into a private let and has held a job ever since. We're still in touch with Cindy and every now and then still receive a message from her stating how grateful she is for the support we gave her.  

John was already receiving some one-to-one support when he received a letter from the DWP that he didn't understand. On reading the letter, Swarthick thought it was strangely worded, and the letter asked for proof of ID. Swarthick phoned the helpline for John, and it was suggested that the letter must be sent in error because they don't need evidence for clients who have been in receipt of benefits for several years, as John had. They said nothing further needed to be done; however, three months later another letter appeared asking the same questions and threatening detrimental consequences if there was no response. This made John panic, and his anxiety peaked. John has limited literacy and is unable to use a computer, which made handling the situation even harder for him. Swarthick called the helpline again and was put through to the department that investigates fraud. They said that a form of sophisticated fraud was committed using John's details and that is why photographic evidence was needed to confirm his identification. John only had a bus pass as a form a photo ID, and Swarthick suggested that a copy of the bus pass could be posted. Swarthick also informed them about John's literacy, and based on this information, they said that an official would contact Swarthick if they required to get in touch with the service user. A few weeks later, the entire case was dropped due to the rightful intervention. John was delighted with the outcome, and his anxiety dramatically reduced once the situation was resolved. 

Meigle Parent Council would like to bring a fun range of clubs to the children of Meigle, Alyth, Coupar Angus and surrounding areas. 

We understand that the the cost of living crisis has impacted families to the point that they can no longer afford to pay for their children to attend clubs and classes outside of school. We have also identified that there is a lack of after school activities in the local area.

Our plan is to offer a different club for 8 weeks each term, running from April 2025-April 2026, including art, dance, outdoor skills and yoga & mindfulness. These would be led by experienced instructors within Meigle Kinloch Hall and Belmont Woods for outdoor activities. A healthy snack would also be provided at every session. We intend to give each child that attends the yoga & mindfulness classes a Mindfulness Journal to take home to continue what they will learn in the class. 

Children's Mental Heath Charity Place2Be's 2025 theme is 'Know Yourself, Grow Yourself'. We feel that the activities we have selected will give them the safe and supported space to explore their interests that will ultimately help support and enhance their mental wellbeing. We hope that through these classes they develop healthy life skills and habits, boost their self confidence and build resilience to help them cope with whatever life may put their way. 

We have based our numbers on approximately 20 children, coming to this number by looking at similar classes that have run in the past in similar sized villages. 

Addressing the cost of living Rattray primary children will have the opportunity to have a fun filled afternoon with laughter and joy and bring about memories.   This project combats poverty and alleviates the cost of living pressures on parents who are unable to afford additional costs outwith the normal weekly living expenses.   This is not about education, keeping fit and active,  learning a new skills or achievement - it is a simple approach to providing a little extra excitement and fun in a world where the challenges against the cost of living crisis can be overhwelming for many parents.     The party events can be spread over a period of time ensuring that Rattray Primary School children can share fun with their school friends in an environment where they will feel safe with no stigma.  This project aligns with the Perth & Kinross Community Action Plan 'for everyone to live well, free from poverty and inequality'.   

After public consultation we know that there is demand for community allotments in the North Muirton area.

These will provide a huge range of benefits to those who are involved, including fresh, sustainable food, a real sense of community, exercise and fresh air, access to others’ knowledge and skills, and access to a tool library.

The increased cost of living is affecting everybody, and having somewhere local, cheap, and healthy to meet others will be of huge benefit. Allotments often become social hubs for those who engage, meaning people will not need to pay to travel into the city centre to meet friends. Tools are often a large expense in gardening and DIY, the library will alleviate this allowing people to make meaningful improvements to their home, garden, and life.

This is not a profit making exercise. We expect to charge at most £30 per year to cover the cost of general upkeep and stocking the tool library.

We are also in conversation with Riverside Primary School and if successful will provide them an allotment for free to help educate the next generation on food, nutrition, budgeting, and sustainability.

North Muirton Community Group is well established as a constituted group that works to support local people, running free lunches, multiple Community Fun Days which attract hundreds of people, maintaining the local Community Hall and providing that space at low rates for other groups to use.

There is a disused and graffiti covered pitch owned by the council that in principal they have agreed we can use for allotments when we have the funding in place. It is currently an eyesore between the community and the river, a common dog walking spot, so transforming it visually would also be an important benefit to the community.

This funding would get us started on the project but not finished. Securing the allotments from vandalism is vitally important and this funding would go towards that in the main. The next step would be building in the actual allotments and acquiring tools, before launching them for the community. 

Kids Week in Crieff has been running for 9 years now. Our 2025 event shall take place between Monday 14th and Friday 18th July this Summer. We plan to organise a range of events and activities for families to enjoy throughout Crieff over a 5 day period. Including various service providers, local groups and businesses. And something for a variety of ages and interests. Events that we plan to hold again this year are a family film night, family quiz, an outdoor assault course, family disco, a Teddy Bears Picnic, cycling event, social meet at the skatepark and nature yoga. New event for this year is a performance in the park - music, show or storytelling. 

Letham Climate Challenge wish to develop our Furniture Store to create a community tool library. Just like a library for books, you can have access to things you sometimes need or want to use without spending lots of money and without having to find space for it in your home. Examples include tools for DIY projects or sewing machine; pressure washer, carpet cleaner, camping equipment, specialist cookware or even an electric bike. 

We currently sell second hand furniture and household electricals PAT tested by our volunteers. This project would allow us to extend the scope of our organisation by reducing our communities spending while contributing to our carbon net zero targets. By using our tool library, members would save money, save space, and save the planet.

We are currently in a cost-of-living crisis, and are based in an economically deprived area. Tool libraries across the UK are known to save their uses an average of £300 per user per year. We might all have a small basic tool kit in our homes, but when it comes to larger, more expensive items many people cannot justify the expense.     

Home-owners with limited resources could then maintain their homes, which helps to provide for housing security. We would like to encourage more of our customers to develop their DIY skills so that furniture can be upcycled to increase their longevity. As an organisation we pride ourselves on encouraging sustainable living and sustainable practices. With the production of a tool library, we can provide our community with access to hundreds of useful items for free. This will encourage our community to try out those upcycling projects, to mend their existing items rather than buying new. 

By sharing resources, we are making our community stronger and more resilient. By borrowing instead of buying we are reducing production and consumption of the same, infrequently used items. Our community would be reducing their carbon footprint and helping to transition towards a circular economy. By not buying new items, we reduce the amount of resources extracted from the Earth, save energy from production and reduce the amount of eventual waste.

We intend to track the amount of items borrowed to track the collective carbon saved by our community. We are promoting the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling among people in Perth, demonstrating how small actions can address the climate emergency. 

We have the space, but now require the tools and equipment to build an inventory. We will seek as much second-hand as possible, but many items will need to be purchased from new. We also need to create an online inventory website to list items available, and allow registration for membership and members to book out items. We expect the tool library to be very popular, so would require a part time member of staff to manage it and itemise all of the items being borrowed and returned.

Overview: Wonderland is a community-based initiative devised by Adventure Circus SCIO in 2024. Wonderland’s aim is to bringing free outdoor circus performances and workshops to local parks in Perthshire. The project focuses on engaging children and families, particularly those from low-income areas, offering them the opportunity to experience live circus entertainment and actively participate in circus skills training within their own community (Coupar Angus), out of doors during the summer holidays. 

Our goals: 

• Access to the Arts during cost of living crisis: we want to provide children and families in low-income / semi-rural areas with the chance to see a professional circus performance, something that may otherwise be financially out of reach. 
• Skill Development: we love to share what we do, and so our performances always include an element of participation to encourage children to engage in circus skills. For example our performers will help members of the public to try juggling, hula hooping, and aerial arts, promoting physical activity, creativity and self-confidence. 
• Community Building: Our visits are intended to offer a community activity that brings local people together for a fun, inclusive and interactive experience. As an outdoor spectacle, there is no limit to the number of people who can attend. In 2024 we performed Wonderland in Coupar Angus to approximately 250 people of all ages. 
• Wellbeing Focus: It is our long term aim that our Wonderland events provoke audience members to consider taking part in circus skills, either through our education programme, or through self practise. Circus arts have a well known reputation for improving mental/emotional wellbeing due to a long history of inclusivity, and the skills offer an opportunity for self-expression, resilience and crucially for young people, play. 

Key Activities: 

• Outdoor Circus Show: Our professional circus performers will put on an engaging outdoor show that is family-friendly and accessible to all ages.  The show is based on Alice in Wonderland and so the story concept is recognisable to many people because of it’s well known characters and timeless themes such as curiosity, exploration, personal growth, absurdity and nonsense! 

• Taster Sessions: After the performance, children and adults will be invited to try their hand at various circus skills like juggling, hula hooping and aerial hoop workshops led by the circus performers. Participants will be encouraged to experiment and learn. 

• Community Involvement: Alongside our performers, local volunteers from Adventure Circus, including our young leaders, will assist with workshop delivery and gain valuable community experience. We will spend time getting to know local people and can encourage them to join us, continue to practise independently. 

Target Audience: 

• Children aged 3-14, particularly those from lower-income backgrounds who may not experience many special activities / experiences due to the cost of living crisis and limitations of the family budget 

• Families and community members who may not typically access large-scale entertainment or arts events because they cannot afford to attend or because they do not have the means to travel out with their area due to limitations of public transport / cost. 

Benefits: 

• For Children: Encourages physical activity and boosts confidence and resilience through fun, engaging experiences. 

• For Families: Provides a free, inclusive arts/circus experience that brings joy for all the family and introduces new ways to engage in physical activity. 

• For all: floor skills such as juggling and hula hooping are extremely low cost and are accessible beyond our Wonderland experiences through our community classes, or through self exploration at home using resources such as youtube/TikTok/Instagram 

• For the Community: Strengthens local connections Adventure Circus has within different areas throughout Perth & Kinross and helps to create lasting memories by bringing a positive, uplifting event to the community. 

Outcomes: 

With your help, we will be helping to increase access to the arts for children in underserved areas, we will encourage/enhance physical and mental wellbeing through creative circus play and we will help to strengthen community cohesion and pride in local parks as venues for cultural and recreational activities. 

By bringing the magic of the circus directly to the community, Wonderland creates a free, accessible opportunity for children to see, learn, and play, and best of all, it is all set up right in their own parkland!

Video: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17929916303875766/

We asked our young people and families about the impact of the cost of living on them, and what we as an organisation could do to ease this. The most common issue was the cost of clothes with ever growing kids. Some parents also said that children with sensory needs were not keen to buy new clothes as they liked the feel of the texture of certain garments, so help to repair them would be appreciated. 

If funded, we will run a series of sessions over the Easter, Summer and October holidays in partnership with a local sewing group where skilled workers will be on hand, along with youth workers, to help mend and improve items of clothing. Our AYP branded hoodies are extremely popular, and we can also add our logo to any other clothing, potentially making it more desirable for the young people to wear. Young people could even add the logo to their clothes to give them a new lease of life.

The whole project is a chance for our young people to be creative, for families to save money, and for waste to be reduced too. This could be extended to school uniform swap shops and become a regular feature of our work.

Facilitating the engagement in meaningful and therapeutic activities (horticulture, woodwork, gastronomy, fitness, nutrition and arts), we aim for people to have better physical, emotional and mental wellbeing; to have better connections with the wider community; and to gain access to new skills and training which will help them move on to positive destinations. We can work with anyone aged 16+ who is reporting difficulties with their mental health and wellbeing.

Three of our engagement staff recently qualified as Decider Skills Facilitators. We are now looking to introduce Decider Skills within our activity engagement sessions at The Walled Garden – Creative Wellbeing, Healthy Lifestyles, Gardening and Hospitality. Decider skills supports and encourages self-management, which includes things like sound and rational decision making. Participant workbooks are not within most client’s affordability, creating a financial barrier to meaningful access. From a cost of living perspective, supporting these expenditures would alleviate any financial pressure and allow clients to engage in this form of therapeutic and self-development activity equitably.  

How Decider Skills can directly influence the cost of living -

The ‘think’, ‘focus’ and ‘pace and plan’ skills support resilience and anxiety management, offering clients the confidence to navigate problematic situations with finances and seeking help. ‘Turn the mind’ challenges habitual behaviour and patterns, and offers alternative ways that can lead to a more helpful outcome. ‘STOPP’ considers impulse, and how we can objectively respond to strong emotions.

The Decider Skills | The Decider