Networking & Influencing

SCHW is an advocate for community led approaches to improving health and wellbeing.  Wherever possible the Board of SCHW makes connections and partnerships with local and national organisations, statutory services, primary health professionals and local and national decision makers.  We aim to influence national and local strategies for health and wellbeing improvement by making the case for an enabling and empowering investment of core funding in the social model of health in local communities. In this way SCHW will deliver on a range of national health priorities at a local level.  

In practical terms, SCHW and partner organisations:

  • provide direct services, including – cooking, diet and fitness classes; walking and exercise groups; addiction support; signposting to services; fruit and vegetable supply; digital inclusion; community engagement; community transport; local radio; counselling and therapy services; arts and music; and youth sports, among others;

  • deliver social prescribing – working with individuals and primary health care professionals to co-produce unique health pathways with agreed personal health and wellbeing outcomes utilising community organisations and resources to actively develop new activities that deliver these outcomes in communities;

  • help overcome isolation – connecting people to practical help, group activities, informal social interaction and volunteering;

  • strengthen communities and places – building on community capacities and energy to take action together on health and the social determinants of health and influence local decision-making

  • provide volunteer and peer support –facilitating the provision of advice, information and support or organising activities, shared experiences and expertise around health and wellbeing

  • build partnerships – working with local services to identify needs and deliver solutions.

The above illustrates what an amazing national resource and asset the community, voluntary and social enterprise sector represents. SCHW is working collaboratively to help politicians, national bodies and decision makers in the Scottish Government recognise that this resource can and should be mobilised to help tackle the health epidemics which are now endemic in Scotland despite millions of pounds being spent to tackle them. We need to prioritise holistic approaches, early intervention, prevention and the elimination of the huge sums of public money spent on failure demand (See the Christie Commission report).  We now do need to do things differently and the community/voluntary sector is ready.