Carers of West Lothian (360G-SCVO-a0g0N00002FvdLQQAZ)

We want to develop a more place-based approach to supporting carers, removing barriers and therefore enabling people to identify as a carer, seek help and be involved in care planning. To do this, we will roll out our existing service in localities in West Lothian which are more remote, are more affected by poverty (SIMD rankings) or are in areas where a higher number of people from BME communities live. Currently services are offered from Livingston; through this project, staff will spend more time out of the office working in the communities of Polbeth, West Calder, Fauldhouse and Bathgate' Resources: Existing staff will lead the project with support from locally recruited volunteers with lived experience as a carer. Staff will train and support volunteers, co-ordinate all workshops and training, and will be the main point of contact with both carers and the partners we work with. Volunteers will be responsible for talking to carers about local services, introducing them to community groups, linking beneficiaries together where appropriate, through technology and facilitating or being present at groups and making them feel welcome. Volunteers will be there to offer "lived experience" support in group situations. The above staffing and volunteer costs will be met from existing funding under our IJB Contract. However to enable us to optimise staff time and effectively reach remote communities, we want to make use of technology and provide equipment for remote working. Funding will be used to purchase Smartboard technology for our Livingston Centre from which we will run training or groups, connecting virtually with groups located in the targeted communities or to individuals in their own homes. The Smartboard will remain in Livingston but enables workshops, groups and training to connect real-time to remote locations through a "room-chat" environment. Carers in different locations can then participate virtually in these sessions, being able to contribute when appropriate - being as interactive as they want. This gives us a way to reach carers both using rooms in community centres and linking in from their own homes. We will also purchase 3 laptops enabling staff to work remotely. These will be set up on the network, allowing real-time access to our server and CRM system. By working in this way, staff will be able to spend more time raising awareness, running local groups and supporting local peer volunteers in specific communities developing the profile of COWL to local volunteers, groups and beneficiaries. How we will measure impact: We will measure the impact of this project through KPIs to track carers registering in each community, demographic profile, uptake of support (type) in specific communities (both geographical and from BME communities), source of referrals, referrals we make to local partners, and how beneficiaries interact with our support (i.e. information provided and groups, workshops or training attended).