Reflection: ALLIANCE Self-Management Awards 2017 (Scottish Parliament Building) & Edinburgh social enterprise cafes, Wednesday 4th October

Representatives of the Moray Wellbeing Hub CIC had been invited down to the Scottish Parliament by Alliance (Heath and Social Care for Scotland) to the Self-Management Awards 2017 in which we were nominated in the ‘Integration Partnership of the Year Award’. We were shortlisted in the category of Integration Partnership of the Year, along with Nari Kallyan Shangho in partnership with NHS Lothian (the winner in our category) and Gleniffer Outreach with Renfrew Rehabilitation service.

As a group of the four Directors at the hub, we made the best use of the trip and took in visits to a couple of social enterprise companies that might share some of our values; Social Bite and Serenity Cafe.

Social Bite:
Social Bite is a sandwich bar and cafe which offers ‘suspended’ food and drink to those who can not afford to eat. This works by inviting you to pay ahead for food for someone else to have at a later date. While we were there we saw how carefully this was done. The actual premises were small and obviously caters for the passing sandwich trade, although there were a few seats if you wanted a chat.

“This café has had a lot of publicity, including high-profile visits from George Clooney. We found that the place was a bit basic, but given its location in an area of high footfall, it was fit for purpose as a quick turnaround take-out shop. We saw quite a few people being given free cups of coffee and advice on where to get free meals etc and I was particularly struck by the discreetness, kindness and dignity with which the chaps were treated at the shop”. Chris.

“Social enterprise ‘Social Bite’ tackles homelessness and social problems. We visited the site based in the Rose Street in Edinburgh and is 1 of 5 across Scotland. The staff team includes those who have experienced life on the streets. It was a lovely café, but lacked a toilet, which seemed unusual to me.” Ailene.

“Having heard a lot about this social enterprise I was keen to see one of its sites and see what we could learn for our own café plans in Moray. Social Bite seems to be able to make good use of trade from those with better incomes who work in the offices and businesses in the area. It’s not far from Princess Street and has great foot fall, but such an approach would be less sustainable for a small city like Elgin.” Heidi

Serenity Cafe:
Serenity cafe is just around the corner from the Scottish Parliament and is the front piece for a charity called Comas who focus on the recovery process for those with experience of alcohol and drug abuse as well as domestic violence and a particular focus on women’s issues with their ‘Womanzone’ project.

This building and staff were all very welcoming and gave up their time to chat very honestly with us about what it has been like to run such a venture for the past nine years.

“I felt much more at home in Serenity Café; they shared our values and approach, and were more about creating a space that supported change for people than income to generate other projects. This is not to say it was better than Social Bite, just a model that is more in line with our approaches at the hub at this time. In talking to one of their staff Cane, it seemed that they too struggle in terms of funding as many similar cafes have in the past. They have had great success in impact, especially in being inclusive through their women’s projects, but that the usual issue of equating this with financial gain continues to be a challenge, and that funders want new projects rather than continuing the good work they have begun. We also chatted about joint funding and their experiences of this, and in their experiences of setting up an employability café as a step up for their volunteers. It felt that we had found new partners in the Serenity team and we will have to keep in touch to share ideas.” Heidi

Awards ceremony:
After the café visits, we went to the Scottish Parliament for the main event of the day. The parliament is certainly an impressive building, once you get through security, but I was a little disappointed that the space allocated for the awards seems to be more of a corridor than a room. This did mean that there was quite a lot of disturbances during the proceedings. Despite this, we were treated to some very interesting short talks.

The welcome introductions for the Awards, were given by Jackie Baillie MSP followed by the Minister of Mental Health Maureen Watt who spoke of her plans for the future of Mental Health care in Scotland (it should be noted that Scotland is so far the only part of the UK which has a dedicated minister for this), they were supported by Marianne Brennan and Sara Redmond from ALLIANCE.

I was particularly impressed by Ashley Davey from Islay and her story of coping with MS (and multiple other conditions) while raising a young family and living several hundred miles from the only specialist who could help with one of her diagnoses in London.

Up next was Paula McGuire, billed as ‘Inspirational Speaker/Adventurer’ and so often that kind of buildup leads to disappointment – but not in Paula’s case! Paula described how she used to be a virtual recluse in her own home, suffering all the classic symptoms of depression and anxiety. Then one day she realised that (in her own words) ‘Paula Must Try Harder’ – this became her mantra, blog and inspiration for a range of adventures including, wing-walking, doing all 17 Commonwealth Games sports, presenting radio shows and now preparing to be the first person ever to swim right around the coastline of Britain.

“She was truly inspirational and came across as a warm and engaging young woman.” Chris

For me, Paula’s greatest achievement was to be able to present a short entertaining, informative and inspiring talk with enthusiasm and not with visible notes!

The Awards presented were;

Self-Management Project of the Year – won by Mindspace based in Perth serving the wider Community of Perth and Kinross. We have been to visit this project and were delighted to see a Recovery College win an award.
The Changemaker – Dr David Reilly and the WEL Project. Dr Reilly managed his own chronic conditions during his career and has personally championed the importance of therapeutic relationships, integrative and holistic care.
Self-Management Resource of the Year – won by Jenny’s Diary, a young woman who is living with a lifelong disability after receiving a diagnosis of dementia – over 1 in 3 people with Down’s Syndrome develop dementia before the age of 60. “Jenny’s Diary” is a free pictorial resource that empowers people with a learning disability to learn about dementia and ensure better preparation for everyday challenges.
Shazia Alhtar Individual Transformational Story of the Year – won by Twimukye Musjhaka who transformed her life through embracing a self-management approach.

When it came to the awards themselves, there were so many great stories of people and projects across Scotland who have championed self-management that it left me feeling I wanted to know more and maybe visit a few to help us here in Moray. In the end, we did not win in our category but that did not matter – we were there!

Ewan

“Unfortunately, we didn’t win an award, but being nominated to be one of the top three organisations concerned with innovation still made us feel very special. This, combined with the wonderful architecture in the foyer and the general good vibe running through the crowd made for an inspirational and affirmative day out.” Chris

“Due to our commitment to catch our train we had to leave before the end of the Awards Ceremony. We finally arrived at Aviemore at 12.20am. It was a very long day, exciting, interesting, eventful and enjoyable. So, thank you to everyone involved who gave of their time to participate in all these Awards.” Ailene

“I really felt proud to be travelling with my fellow directors to an award ceremony, nominated despite the hub existing as a social enterprise for less than a year. Spending the day talking about future plans, exploring ideas and doing things together was wonderful, it proved a great team building day as well as helping us make plans for the business growth and new contacts to support this. However, it was a long day and all of us suffered in the subsequent days due to the impact of so much walking, rushing and lack of sleep. Unfortunately coming from Moray does mean we are often on the back foot when it comes to national awards and need to have extra resources for travel – perhaps next time we can afford to stay over and get a better rest.” Heidi