Welcome to the August Network Newsletter!

​​​​Welcome to the August edition of the Network newsletter and a big hello and welcome to new members of the Network.

I hope you have all managed to have some time off over the summer to recharge your batteries. Our latest edition has information on useful resources, events and updates from the Network.

The Scottish Community Link Worker Network is the national network, developed and facilitated by Voluntary Health Scotland for primary care community link working in Scotland.

Please visit our webpage for the latest blogs, reports and information about the Network. You can follow us on Twitter @ScotCLWnetwork and don't forget to share your news and updates with us. 

Events, Workshops and Training

Scottish Community Link Worker Network Events

Don't forget that you can find booking details, presentations and key messages from all of our SCLWN events on our events page. 

Knowledge Exchange - 4 September
Our next Knowledge Exchange will feature speakers from Versus Arthritis and the charities specialising in supporting people after the loss of a baby which make up the Baby Loss Collaborative. Find out more and book your place.

SCLWN and Macmillan ICJ Event - 9 September
The Network is planning to host an online event with the Improving Cancer Journey Link Workers and teams from Macmillan to share learning and good practice. We will also be joined by policy colleagues from Scottish Government's Primary Care and Cancer teams. Click here for more information and to book your place.

SCLWN Coffee Conversations: Peer Support for CLWs - 24 September
This will be the first in a series of one-hour catch ups to enable CLWs to hop online, and catch up for a chat to share learning, ask each other questions and have a blether!  Find out more and book your place.

VHS Annual Conference and Poster Competition - 28 October
Booking is now open for Voluntary Health Scotland's annual conference,  'Collaboration for Change'. The event will explore how collaboration is used within the sector to define priorities, strengthen partnerships, and lay the groundwork for a healthier, fairer Scotland. For the next two weeks, there is an early bird discount with £15 off ticket prices. SCLWN members can also take advantage of a member discount. Our Poster Competition is also back! This is a great chance to showcase collaboration in your organisation and you can enter here.  For more information about the conference, please visit VHS Annual Conference – Collaboration for Change.

Other Events, Training and Resources

Cross Party Group (CPG) on Health Inequalities – 10 September
VHS provides the secretariat for the CPG on Health Inequalities. The next meeting will take place on 10 September from 6.00-7.30pm online, when we will be exploring Health Inequalities and Poverty. To find out more about the CPG and how to join, please contact Sarah Latto.

Peer Supporters Practice Exchange - 16 September
We don’t often get the chance to gather as peers, but when we do, it matters. This is a practical, in-person event from Scottish Recovery Network to share learning, connect with others, and strengthen your peer support practice. Book for this event.

Scottish Vision Strategy 2025 Annual Conference - 17 September
This year’s SVS (Scottish Vision Strategy) Conference will take place at the Voco Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow on 17 September 2025. The 2025 conference will encompass Putting Accessibility at the Centre of Eyecare. 
Find out more information here.

Free MS-UK training for social prescribers - 19 September
Did you know that MS is the most common disabling neurological condition in young adults? It is estimated that there are over 150,000 people in the UK who have MS. MS-UK knows that social prescribing plays a huge role in universal personalised care services across health and social care, and they want to help raise awareness of MS with your teams.  They are offering free MS awareness training sessions for social prescribing professionals and volunteers. Book your place here.

Bipolar Scotland National Conference 2025 - 9 October
Bipolar Scotland is hosting Time for Transformation – a landmark national conference at the COSLA Conference Centre in Edinburgh. This one-day event will bring together professionals, academics, clinicians, and those with lived experience to explore urgent issues facing people with bipolar in Scotland. Find out more and book your place. 

Carers Parliament Event - 30 October
With a new Scottish Parliament to be elected next year, Carers Scotland will be looking at 2026 and beyond to address the main priorities for unpaid carers and how their lives can improve. Carers Scotland has online places available for this event and you can find out more and register here. 

New resources on teenage mental health for parents
Scottish Government has developed these resources focusing on teenage mental health for parents. Please do use and share them with your colleagues.

Resources for people living with SAD
A team of researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow have created a series of resources to support people living with SAD including a guidebook - Light is a Right - A Guide to Wintering Well.  They also have a free-to-access online self-help course 'Living with SAD', created with the Living Life to the Full team. You can find further information about their project activities on their website.  

Guide Dogs
Guide Dogs offer a range of volunteer opportunities, including the opportunity to ‘try out’ volunteering before formally registering. Local fundraising groups offer a way for people to help out now and again in a sociable environment within their local communities. For those who would like to be more involved, volunteering with their dogs allows people to get outdoors and benefit from the companionship of a four-legged friend at home, all whilst helping people with sight loss.  Visit their website or email to find out more information.

ASH Scotland launch FREE e-Learning Module 
Ash Scotland is encouraging alcohol and drug support workers and volunteers to access a new e-learning module. The module provides vital information to encourage people who smoke and are being supported to reduce use of alcohol and other drugs to seek assistance to live tobacco-free.  

NHS Scotland Conference resources available online
A wealth of learning from the NHS Scotland Event 2025 is now available online offering valuable insights, inspiration, and practical tools, The resources provide an opportunity to explore the latest thinking, innovation, and best practice from across Scotland’s health and care system. 
 

News from across the Network

Community Link Workers attend Royal Garden Party at Holyrood Palace
Theresa Henry and Laura Campbell (seen above) from Dundee CLW service, along with other VHS members attended last month's Royal Garden Party at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh.  The Garden Party is an opportunity to thank and celebrate those who make a positive contribution to Scottish communities.

Scottish Community Link Worker Network survey
A big thank you to everyone who completed the Network survey. Roisin will be reviewing and writing up the findings and sharing these in due course.

The Alliance publishes report on impact of CLW programme
Since 2014 the Community Link Worker (CLW) Programme has been supporting individuals to improve their health and wellbeing by helping them to access assistance with issues such as poverty, loneliness and isolation, housing, debt, and abuse. This evaluation highlights the positive impact that the CLW service has had on its clients.

Clackmannanshire and Stirling CLW programme annual report
The Clackmannanshire and Stirling CLW team have published their end of year report for 2024-5. which highlights all the great work they have done over the last year.

Welcome to new community link workers
We are pleased to welcome Louise Morgan who is Fife's newest community link worker and Rachel Paisley who is based in East Renfrewshire. We look forward to seeing Louise and Rachel at future Network events. 

Network Teams Channels
Don't forget that we now have two Teams channels, one for CLWs and one for programme leads to enable everyone to ask questions and share resources. If you want to be added to one of the Teams channels, please contact Roisin.

Other News

Funding investment for General Practice
The Scottish Government has announced General Practice will receive an initial additional investment of £15 million this year to ease recruitment pressures and to boost capacity. 

National Records of Scotland: Healthy life expectancy continues to fall
The time people in Scotland spend in good health has fallen to a near ten year low, according to new figures published by National Records of Scotland.  
The latest figures show that in 2021-2023 females can expect to enjoy 60 years of good health and males 59.6 on average at birth. Healthy life expectancy at birth has been falling since 2014-2016. More here.

Paths for All becomes Walking Scotland
Scotland's national walking and wheeling charity has rebranded, marking a bold new chapter after almost 30 years of empowering people to walk more, move more and enjoy the outdoors. Walking Scotland has officially unveiled its new identity, replacing Paths for All, to better reflect its mission and impact. 

Scottish Government publishes plan to improve benefits take-up
The Scottish Government has published the Seldom Heard Groups Action Plan outlining how the Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland will continue to tackle the systemic barriers to benefit take-up faced by seldom-heard groups. 

Third sector organisations call for action on health and social care charity funding
240 third sector organisations including Voluntary Health Scotland have signed an open letter to John Swinney warning 61% of charities providing health and social care support fear that they “will no longer be a going concern within four years”. 

9 in 10 low-income families going without essentials 
A cost-of-living tracker from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows that a year into the new Labour Government, there has been no improvement in the key measures of hardship, with over 7 million low-income families still going without essentials.  Under current plans, hardship is likely to deepen as real disposable incomes, after housing costs, are projected to fall by £690 by 2030.
More here.

Community-led health groups and Scotland's mental health crisis
In a new briefing, CHEX has explored the contribution of community-led health organisations and approaches to growing positive mental health and wellbeing. Through a series of interviews, practitioners shared their insights about Scotland's 'mental health crisis', fuelled by the ongoing impacts of the pandemic which added pressure on people already facing poverty, discrimination, and oppression.  More here.

Annual report published for Scotland’s suicide prevention strategy
The Scottish Government has published the annual report from Year 2 of the delivery of Creating Hope Together, Scotland’s suicide prevention strategy, and a delivery plan for Year 3. The annual report details work with a broad range of different groups across society, as well as with three NHS Boards. It notes a new public awareness campaigns framework has been developed, part of its approach to United to Prevent Suicide. 

Brian Whittle report on the role of prevention in public health
Enlighten has published a report by Brian Whittle MSP which maps out a series of interventions aimed at moving Scotland towards better mental and physical health, learning in part from the experience of the COVID lockdown.