Volunteer services : SmartLiving

SmartLiving

Our award-winning SmartLiving peer education project recruits and supports young peer educators between the ages of 16 and 25 to deliver housing information sessions in Falkirk and Fife.

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Our goal

Our aim is to help young people make informed choices about their future housing options and to learn the skills they need if they are to be successful in sustaining a tenancy.  The peer educators who deliver the sessions are volunteers who have experienced for themselves the pleasures and pitfalls of having a tenancy and living independently.

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How we work

We work in partnership with housing providers, community education, mainstream education and other local services that support young people.  Through these partnerships, we are connected with young people who would benefit from and wants to get involved with SmartLiving.

The peer educators have developed and delivered workshops to secondary school pupils and other young people attending careers programmes for school non-attendees or staying in temporary accommodation.

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Awards

The Peer Educators themselves take part in Millenium Volunteer and Young Achievement Awards, working towards increasing their skills and knowledge.

In 2011, we were very proud to be named as the Volunteer Centre Falkirk's 'Young Volunteer Engaging Service of the Year' for the fourth time and were a finalist in the 2010 Chartered Institute of Housing's UK Housing Awards. SmartLiving also won the 2010 Herald Society Award for 'Service Provider of the Year (working with under 24s)'

SmartLiving is funded by the Scottish Government's Wider Role Fund, Falkirk Council, Fife Council, the Robertson Trust and Link. It is supported by partner housing associations which refer young tenants to the project.

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Downloads

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