What is The Big Help Out?

Hello Be the Changers! Thank you so much for engaging with our new platform. We'd love to hear from you how you find it so we can improve our service. We want it to work for you! Follow this link to answer a few short questions about your experience. We hope you have a wonderful holiday season, but if you find this time of year hard, please do reach out to someone. Here are some local resources: Tayside Suicide Prevention The Tayside Suicide Prevention website , which can also be downloaded as an app to your mobile phone, provides: Information about suicide How to help Local, Tayside and national support agency contacts Guidance on creating a safety plan . The Neuk - Adult Mental Health Crisis and Suicide Prevention Centre Telephone: 01738 718070 There is a safe and welcoming environment provided for those who are in crisis. This may be due to situational stress that is affecting mental health and wellbeing e.g. relationship breakdown, bereavement, loss of job or coping with lifestyle changes. If you need a safe space, need to talk, or need someone to listen staff are available to listen and care. Further information can be found on the Neuk website. The Lighthouse (Children and Young People Suicide and Self Harm Crisis Service) Telephone: 0800 121 4820 They offer crisis support to anyone who is at risk with their mental health. This includes whose who are at risk of suicide or self-injury or are in emotional distress or crisis. They offer a safe space to talk and be supported. Staff and volunteers are available to offer a welcoming, non-judgemental approach. Family support is available for any parent/brother or sister/ carer etc. of young people accessing the service. Further information can be found on the The Lighthouse website . Here's to a new year full of community, volunteering and new opportunities! All the best, Emily Skilton, Development officer for Volunteering, Third Sector Interface Perth and Kinross.

One benefit of volunteering is that it offers an opportunity to make an impact without the stress or commitment that comes with employment. To ensure volunteering lives up to these standards, Volunteer Scotland has set out a Volunteer Charter identifying ten key principles for organisations to follow. These principles relate to: Ensuring volunteering is voluntary, not compulsory Covering out-of-pocket expenses to keep volunteering accessible for all Offering training and development opportunities to volunteers Maintaining a clear distinction between paid staff and volunteers Individuals and organisations across sectors with an interest in volunteering are invited to become Charter Champions , signalling their commitment to these values. You can find other advice about volunteering best practices at Third Sector PK .

What barriers do people face when volunteering, and what are the possible solutions? These are the questions a Volunteer Strategy seeks to answer! TSI (Perth & Kinross) is currently working on the Volunteer Strategy for Perth & Kinross, 2024-2027. A Volunteer Strategy is a plan that benefits volunteer-involving organisations and volunteers in the present and future. It creates a shared understanding of the issues volunteering faces and the priorities and actions needed to effect positive change. We've been working to developing the aims and objectives of a local Volunteer Strategy with input from cross-sector partners and organisations themselves. We are grateful to the employees and volunteers in the voluntary sector who shared their thoughts with us in the consultation stage of this project. We look forward to sharing this Strategy with the wider public in summer 2024. For more information, please visit Third Sector PK or keep up with us on your preferred social media channel.