Wellbeing, Health and Social Care

In response to the pandemic, Hilda Campbell, Chief Executive of COPE Scotland, wrote a three-part blog series about how the sector might recover, covering topics such as the importance of networks, mental health, and the strain on unpaid carers.  

For the last two years, we’ve been delivering a wellbeing support sessions in partnership with COPE Scotland. To sustain the vital work across the third sector, it is essential to foster a culture of self-care and mutual support. This includes creating spaces for open dialogue about the emotional challenges of this work, offering resources for mental health and wellbeing, and encouraging practices that promote resilience.

Workshops Include:

Avoiding Compassion Fatigue and Burnout
Learning to Switch Off for Self-Care
Boundaries & Assertiveness
Wellbeing for Managers

Find all upcoming workshops on our events page.

Maximising Independence (MI) is a Health and Social Care Partnership-led programme of change.  Its vision is that Glasgow should be a city where everyone can achieve their full potential with a focus on health, wellbeing and independence.

The programme started from the premise that everyone in the city should have an active role and responsibility in decision-making and that people should lead the lives they want, as far as possible. 

The principles of the MI approach focus emphasise the importance of helping individuals stay in their communities. This involves providing suitable support for them and their family caregivers, if they have any. This does not mean expecting people to live without assistance or relying solely on family members or the wider community for their support needs. 

It builds on key health and social care principles, focusing on early intervention and prevention in a kind and compassionate way.

Sheena Arthur, Head of Policy & Engagement, has been part of the Maximising Independence (MI) Team since 2020. The programme is now transitioning to “business as usual,” with some projects continuing in community spaces and others being embedded within HSCP practice, such as asset-based conversations and community networking. Sheena is now taking this valuable learning into the Child Poverty Programme, strengthening connections between the third sector and statutory partners.

GCVS is a member of the Glasgow City Suicide Prevention Partnership, which meets regularly to oversee and coordinate multi-agency suicide prevention work in the city to reduce deaths by suicide.

Local action is crucial and covers a range of activities. This includes planning events for Suicide Prevention Week, welcoming anyone touched by suicide, providing a space for comfort and support and time to reflect with one another.

The partnership ensures that all partners are valued and supported in their activities across the city, including community groups, education, policing, and many others. Access to training is a key aspect of this, and we are delighted to offer training for the third sector as part of the partnership’s regular training schedule.  

The Glasgow Wellbeing Fund provides small grants of up to £10,500 for projects that improve mental wellbeing in the city. It is resourced by the Scottish Government and is part of the national Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund. It aims to support small to medium-sized community groups, voluntary organisations, and social enterprises in delivering adult mental wellbeing projects across the city’s diverse communities.

GCVS have facilitated the local implementation of the fund in Glasgow since 2021. Please read about how we help manage the fund and find recent case studies of the projects supported here.

Find lots of helpful guides and FAQs on the fund here.

As part of this fund activity, we share learning and collaborate with Scottish Government colleagues in the Mental Health Directorate, as well as our Third Sector Interface (TSI) colleagues across Scotland. We also meet with Greater Glasgow and Clyde colleagues from the TSIs and NHS who commissioned an evaluation of the fund. Read the latest evaluation here.

The latest round of the Glasgow Wellbeing Fund closed for applications on Wednesday, 29 October 2025.

In 2020, a 3-year pathfinder project in Glasgow brought together the City Council, NHS, Public Health Scotland, third sector organisations, researchers, and experts by experience to build a shared understanding of gambling participation, risks, and harms in the city. The project aimed to co-design, implement, and evaluate Scotland’s first local action plan to tackle gambling harms.

Read the Theory of Change to understand the components of the whole-system approach to tackling gambling harms in Glasgow.

Glasgow City HSCP and GCVS co-hosted a series of webinars to ensure third sector partners were involved, informing the activities and approach taken. 

In 2022, GCVS administered the Glasgow Gambling Harms Fund, which provided small grants to support local people, communities and services at any stage of tackling gambling harms. The evaluation of activities funded provided a wealth of insights and learning. It was clear that the involvement of communities and third sector organisations in tackling gambling harm was invaluable.

Other work included the development of a systems map and a creative arts project, led by the Recollective, to hear the voice of lived experience, which led to the production of the What’s at Stake website and resource materials.

The Simon Community used funding from Gamble Aware to learn more about support for Gambling Harms in Glasgow. Their research led to the development of the Homelessness and Gambling Harm Toolkit, which provides practical resources for staff to begin and sustain conversations about gambling and create a support plan for those affected.

In 2023, GCVS and the community interest company Machine Zone collaborated to host documentary screenings and discussions on gambling and suicide prevention. Machine Zone created One Last Spin, a documentary that brings together people with lived experience, professionals, and politicians to share their experiences and expertise in this field.

The Our World Reimagined podcast series, hosted by GCVS, explores how we can transform health and social care to build a fairer, more compassionate system for the future.

In the wake of COVID-19, the series invited leaders, practitioners, and community voices to share big ideas and practical insights on how we might reimagine the delivery of care and support. It recognised that the pandemic exposed deep inequalities, but also revealed the strength, creativity, and commitment within communities and the voluntary sector.

At the heart of these discussions was the concept of an enabling state: a vision of health and social care where power is shared, people and communities are at the centre, and public services act as partners rather than providers alone.

The series explored key questions for the future of health and social care:

• How can we design services around people, not systems?
• What role should the voluntary and community sector play in shaping care and support?
• How can we ensure fair access, dignity, and choice for everyone?
• What needs to change in how we collaborate across health, social care, and communities?

By bringing together voices from across sectors, Our World Reimagined aimed to spark new thinking and inspire practical change, helping Scotland move towards a more person-centred, preventative, and partnership-driven model of care. Collectively, we call for a health and social care system where communities are empowered, relationships are built on trust, and people have genuine control over the support that helps them live well.

The ideas explored in Our World Reimagined closely align with Scotland’s wider reform agenda, including the creation of the National Care Service, Fairer Futures Partnerships Scotland 2025 and Glasgow’s Child Poverty Programme. The No Wrong Door network within the Child Poverty Programme brings multi-disciplinary partners together to identify strengths and shared approaches that enhance the experience of citizens seeking support.

The learning and insights from Our World Reimagined series support the national ambition, encouraging all partners to work together to rebalance the system by giving individuals and communities more voice, choice, and control, and by strengthening collaboration between statutory services and the third sector.