Supporting mental health across our Communities

As the UK’s leading Social Enterprise, our commitment to helping Customers and Communities to thrive is a year-round concern. During Mental Health Awareness month, we’re putting the spotlight on our People and all the great things they’re doing to support mental health and wellbeing across our Communities.  

We caught up with Iain Bruce, Community Investment Manager for Scotland, to ask him how he and his team are making an impact…  

Can you explain to us what it is you and your team do?

“My role is ultimately about generating social impact that benefits our Customers and Communities. I manage a small (and wonderful) team that collectively works hard to support Customers in a number of ways. It involves a mix of direct delivery, working in partnership with a wide variety of stakeholders across all sectors, distributing grants, accessing external funding and unlocking social value contributions through our supply chain.

“We identify social issues and gaps in provision using data and input from Colleagues, Customers and partners, and then try to deploy our resources to address these. Last year, we supported a portfolio of 54 projects across Scotland and 12,807 People engaged in activities as a result.

“When I’m not visiting projects or meeting partners, much of my job is desk-based and it is my responsibility to maintain projects, troubleshooting where necessary and monitoring and measuring impact, ensuring that we have a complete understanding of any benefits, for reporting purposes. It’s vital that we are constantly reviewing and learning from all this activity and considering what improvements might be possible. 

“The landscape changes continually and fresh challenges always keep us busy! .”  

How do you and your team champion and support Customers’ mental health and wellbeing across our Scotland Communities?

“We have an understanding of our Customers and a unique insight into the issues they are facing. Last year’s Wellbeing survey informed us that sadly, 25% of our Customers (UK-wide) have low life satisfaction, compared to the national average of 5%. We therefore acknowledge that there is much work to be done.

“As a large organisation with numerous strengths and specialisms, PfP has the capacity to drive meaningful change and really support Communities. As a starting point, my team builds relationships and harnesses support for this mission from within the group. We know we can’t do it alone!

“In terms of championing externally, I think we are increasingly viewed as a reliable and trusted partner in the Communities that we operate. As a result, our voice is an important and influential one in terms of fostering collaboration and campaigning for a fairer, more equitable society where everyone has a choice of routes open to them, help available when needed and the means to thrive.

“Since the pandemic we can see an unprecedented need for mental health support, and this is set against a backdrop of public sector cuts and ever-reducing capacity. We are doing everything we can to step up and find the solutions.”

What are some of the ways in which we’re making a positive impact on People’s mental health?

“One of the themes that guides our actions is ‘health and wellbeing’, and many of the projects we support fall under this category. Examples include several of the activities we host at Hays Community Hub in Edinburgh. Thrive 1:1 support is available here for those suffering from poor mental health and covers coping skills, reducing anxiety, relaxation techniques, and stress management. From the Hub, we also offer a Community pantry, pet foodbank, coffee mornings, ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes, benefits advice, employability advice and much more.

“Another of our facilities, SPACE, accommodates several charities that do amazing work - Scottish Autism, Capability Scotland, Carr Gomm, and Drake Music Scotland. Lyra, a performing arts venue exclusively for young people reported that 87% of its participants last year showed increased self-esteem as a result.

“Also in Edinburgh, we continue to be an active funder of three youth projects linked to Community Sport Hubs based in Leith, Wester Hailes, and Craigmillar. All three are driven by acute, individualised, local need and the promotion of mental health is a fundamental component of them all. 

“ Whilst ‘Friday Night Lights’, based at Castlebrae High School, attracted 91 participants during the past year, with 62 attending regularly, and is recognised as delivering hugely positive outcomes by all stakeholders, including the police.”

How important is partnership working to supporting mental health and wellbeing throughout Communities?

“It is of the utmost importance. Nothing we do is in isolation and we are always keen to take on board a range of views. We are fortunate to have a fantastic range of partners internally and externally that help us to deliver and amplify our impact.
“Our partnership with The Wise Group, for example, has enabled Customers in need across the Lothians to access a range of intensive support including one-to-one relational mentoring, lasting up to four months from a team of experienced, professional and trauma-informed mentors. Over 100 households have benefited from this service in the past year.

“As a housing provider, we are only too aware of the effects of homelessness. We partner with some fantastic and inspiring organisations tackling these issues head on, including Fresh Start in Pilton, Edinburgh, who provide starter packs and room makeovers for people that have recently been housed, following a period of homelessness. Often these people lack the very basics and struggle to maintain their tenancy as a result. 

“Volunteers from KTGC (Knights Templar Goodwill Charity) Scotland regularly give out care, clothing, and food packages to the homeless populations of cities including Inverness and Aberdeen.

“In order to help preserve our precious resources, where possible, we try to bring assets to the table beyond cash. These can include the use of commercial units, deploying staff volunteering hours and in-kind support from contractors. The Ridge in Dunbar, East Lothian is a brilliant, innovative charity that provides holistic support and helps people in need to move away from dependency. We were recently able to help them complete their remarkable new support centre by calling upon our major works contractor, Novus, who heroically rose to the challenge and instructed work with an estimated social value of £50,000 to help get the project over the line. Another contractor, Cablecom, supplied 46 luminaires free of charge for the centre, saving them over £3,000!

“Further afield, we have made a concerted effort to improve our understanding of need in outlying areas and establish relationships with partner organisations working there. As a result, we now have a new projects pipeline for 2025/26 in areas such as Falkirk, Aberdeen and Twechar.”

Where does the funding for Scotland initiatives come from and how is it allocated? 

“The team has access to a number of funding streams internally, such as Community Investment, which is a bit of a mainstay. PfP also has its own stand-alone charity, Places Foundation, which has a slightly different emphasis and criteria. We also administer a round of funding each year from Group company Touchstone that targets homelessness. It can be a little confusing to understand the nuances, but after six years in the job, I think I’m nearly there!

“We also have levy arrangements in place with some of our suppliers and contractors. Travis Perkins Community Legacy Funding for example is a Social Value Levy, where for every pound Places for People spends on materials, a penny is directed towards initiatives that benefit our Customers.

“In terms of allocation, we have various tools that we use to map existing provision and understand need. “Once a particular need or issue has been identified in a given area, we seek to deploy our resources and address the need in the most appropriate way, taking into account value for money. Obviously, these resources are finite and need to be managed carefully. As far as possible, Community Investment aims to ensure that an equitable spread of allocation is achieved across Communities”

From Thrive 1:1- support to youth projects and tackling homelessness, it’s wonderful to see the sheer breadth of initiatives happening year-round across Scotland to support Customers’ mental health and wellbeing. They demonstrate how we’re going Beyond Homes to drive positive change across our Communities nationally, based on the results of our annual Wellbeing Survey.

A huge thank you to Iain and his team for everything they do - keep up the brilliant work!