Equal Futures receives over £80,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund

Posted 17/01/2023

Equal Futures has received funding from The National Lottery Community Fund to continue its work in supporting people with a learning disability and/or autism and their families in Edinburgh and the Lothians.

Equal Futures is delighted to announce that it has been awarded £80,471 by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.

The grant will enable Equal Futures to continue its work in Edinburgh and the Lothians for the next two years.

This includes befriending and social activities for 32 people with a learning disability or autism and their family members.

“As parents, we are really happy with the befriending our son is receiving via Equal Futures. It was not easy to find a befriending service, although we knew he would benefit from one. Finding Equal Futures, where there isn’t a cost to us as a family, has made a difference to us as parents.

But the real impact is for our son, who can now pursue an important hobby through the support of a befriender who is equally keen on the hobby. That mutual interest, as well as the time together, means our son is strengthened in a key area of his life.”

It will also include building circles of support around individuals, which will result in reduced social isolation, and improved wellbeing.

Jayne Laidlaw, Managing Director, said: “We’re delighted to be awarded a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund to support us to end social isolation for adults with a learning disability.

The award will enable us to reach more people across Edinburgh and the Lothians, making a huge difference to mental wellbeing and quality of life of individuals and families.

We’re thrilled that our model of support has been recognised as making a lasting difference to people in local communities.”

Find out more about Equal Futures’ supporters

 

About The National Lottery Community Fund

The National Lottery Community Fund logo. It contains an image of a hand crossing its fingers and text reading 'community fund'.

The National Lottery Community Fund are the largest funder of community activity in the UK – they support people and communities to prosper and thrive.

They are proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to work closely with Government to distribute vital grants and funding from key Government programmes and initiatives.

Their funding has a positive impact and makes a difference to people’s lives. They support projects focused on things that matter, including economic prosperity, employment, young people, mental health, loneliness and helping the UK reach NET Zero by 2050.

Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, their funding is open to everyone. They are privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.

National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £43 billion has been raised for good causes. National Lottery funding has been used to support over 635,000 projects – 255 projects per postcode area.

To find out more about The National Lottery Community Fund, visit https://www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk