A Livingston-based organisation that provides support and accommodation for vulnerable young people has received a huge boost thanks to The National Lottery.
Open Door Scotland has received £200,000 grant from The National Lottery Community Fund with that figure ensuring they are able to work with 150 youngsters for the next three years.
In total, 323 organisations received a total of £11 million in grants.
Dione McCloskey is one young person who has benefited from Open Door Scotland’s work.
The 21-year-old from Livingston left home following a breakdown in communication with her family and subsequently had no permanent accommodation. Open Door Scotland gave her a place in one of their flats in November 2021.
She said: “They have helped me sort out housing benefits and other financial stuff and I have also learned how to use a washing machine and do my own washing.”
Dione has since moved into her own flat and volunteers with the organisation’s Outreach Unit.
She added: “Everyone who comes here has a different background and a lot of them are lost and so I just work with each person individually to try to help them.
“At the end of the day the people at Open Door Scotland are there for me and I know that I can always turn to them.
“To other young people that are currently in the same situation I was I would say that there is help out there and this is what you can become or achieve if you take the help.”
Aileen Willmott, Chief Executive Officer, Open Door Scotland, commented: “We are absolutely delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has awarded us funding to continue to deliver our Outreach Project in West Lothian and help more young people such as Dione.
“Open Door Scotland has been supporting young people experiencing homelessness for many years and sadly the need for organisations such as ours still exists.
“This money will allow us to employ two dedicated Outreach Workers who will do all they can to empower young people at a time of crisis, when often their overall well-being is poor, firstly ensuring that their basic needs are met so that they can progress, and then helping them to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that, with time, they will be able to secure and sustain their own home and support themselves.”
Announcing the funding, Kate Still, Scotland Chair, The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “Our funding continues to support people who are facing tough times and who are having to make difficult choices on a day-to-day basis.
“As Dione’s story so clearly demonstrates, the reassurance that she felt from knowing that someone was there for her, giving her tools and confidence to cope meant that she felt empowered to make changes in her life.
“This will now be the case for thousands more people in communities up and down the country.”
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