BEMIS Scotland are aware that ethnic minority communities across Scotland will need to self-isolate and may need additional support to access support agencies, emergency relief or make contact with broader community support initiatives.
Having spoken to communities across Scotland in the last number of days it has become apparent that the coming days and weeks will bring significant challenges for our communities.
As such we have decided to take the following measures:
- we have set up a dedicated online registration hub that will enable us to identify where you are and in turn make efforts to ensure that local support organisations and community response initiatives are able to respond to you. You can register here.
- We have set up contacts with our networks across Scotland to offer a peer to peer support service and sharing best practice from local community responses. We need to support each other during this challenge. To join this network please email us at communitysupport@bemis.org.uk
- We are assessing to what extent our own reserve funds can be allocated to an Emergency Relief Small Grant fund that will be open to communities and individuals. We will announce details of this ASAP.
- We will support the Ethnic Minority Resilience Network to access the Scottish Government’s Wellfare and Wellbeing fund being led by our Cabinet Secretary for Communities Aileen Campbell
- We are in the process of establishing a support groups for mental health/counselling support with trained culturally skilled counsellors for supporting individuals and families with anxiety fearing isolation over the coming weeks and months.
This is a developing situation and as the weeks progress all of our efforts are being directed towards ensuring that our communities and individuals are linked into evolving efforts to support each other.
If you have any further queries please contact us on communitysupport@bemis.org.uk.
