Moray Wellbeing Hub in running for national Self Management Award – Project of the Year
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A MORAY collective which exists to lift locals' wellbeing is in the running for a national award for a project which touched the lives of more than 1000 people in the region.
Moray Wellbeing Hub is one of five organisations to have made the shortlist for the Self Management Awards 2020 – Project of the Year, run by the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland, for it's wide-ranging Wellbeing Connected Moray initiative.
The winner is being decided by public vote, which closes on Monday, September 14.
More than 300 people in the region, ranging in age from eight to 80, have actively signed up as mental health champions for Moray Wellbeing Hub, drawing on their life experiences to self-manage their own wellbeing and to support others. Around 60 people are actively giving their time at the moment.
Starting out in 2016, the hub's over-arching vision to bring people from all walks of life together, linking them to wellbeing training and resources and led by people who have faced similar challenges, is now a reality.
And throughout the Covid-19 pandemic – when many organisations were forced to scale back activities – the hub has gained numbers and strength.
Over lockdown, Moray Wellbeing Hub ramped up activity and moved projects online within hours.
The £160,000 Wellbeing Connected Moray project was funded by Moray LEADER and the Moray Alcohol and Drug Partnership to assist vulnerable and disadvantaged people.
The year-long project focused on increasing the "mental wealth" of Moray. It was the hub's biggest project to date and ended this summer.
Over May, June and July the hub ran 16 online courses in self management for mental health, with daily events to provide peer-support. Volunteer champions contributed hundreds of hours in addition to paid staff.
As well as helping to transform lives, the project has transformed the whole organisation, reaching more than 1000 people in Moray and expanding the hub's employed team.
Heidi Tweedie, champion and director at the hub, said being shortlisted for the award was a "big deal" for an organisation which didn't have a lot of resources.
She added: "It would be amazing for the 300 people who are using their experience to help people in Moray live mentally healthy lives to be recognised through this award. It's just what we need for all involved to give them a boost.
"It would help put Moray on the map too and show that just because Moray is a relatively small, rural area, that doesn't mean that we can't come up with novel and innovative ways to really change lives."
The award winner will be announced during an online ceremony on September 29.
People can vote at https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/2020SMAPOTYFinal .
