Care & Share
C & S began in 2008 as a collaboration between Riverside Church and Ayrshire & Arran NHS Trust. Its initial aim was to support people affected by homelessness through providing a drop-in facility (with a meal) where health support could be provided and clients could be sign-posted to other relevant services.
It has evolved over the past 14 years into an organisation providing a range of services to people in recovery from alcohol & drug issues and people affected by homelessness. The core event each week is the drop-in facility where an average of 60 people per week can access 10 different social care, health care and financial services on a one-stop-shop basis.
C & S is a central component of South Ayrshire’s alcohol and drug strategy and implements the Scottish Government Recovery Oriented System of Care (ROSC). C & S won the COSLA Gold Award in 2009 for its innovative practice
RCT Furniture Service
Riverside Community Trust recognise the need to help those vulnerable people in the local community struggling to start up and maintain a tenancy. This may be due to various reasons e.g. moving out of homelessness, struggling with addiction, mental health issues etc.
The service collects donations of furniture and aids service users in furnishing their new accommodation. The service is provided free of charge, and is run by our part time Coordinator and his team of volunteer with support provided mainly on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesdays from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Outreach
Our Peer Support Workers provide an Outreach service every Monday, Wednesday, & Friday morning. This provides the opportunity for them to engage with those harder to reach individuals in some parts of the town where people are known to gather.
As an organisation our aim is to bring compassion, understanding and support to individuals with complex needs that might not otherwise engage with services. We provide information and get to know them in order to gain a greater understanding of their needs. We aim to encourage and support them by signposting them to the most relevant services who can meet their needs.