Fresh Start in Craigmillar; an introduction

Hello,

For those who are not aware of who Fresh Start are and what we do; here is an introduction to us.

Fresh Start is an Edinburgh based charity helping people who have been homeless get established in their new home. Working in partnership with volunteers and organisations from a broad section of the community, we deliver a range of services that provide the practical and social support that help people resettle successfully.

Since Fresh Start has set up a satellite office in Craigmillar we’ve been busy establishing our services in the local area.

We’ve transformed our land near the Robin Chapel into an area filled with both beds and raised beds, and over the summer we had a fantastic variety of vegetables, and plenty of fruit too. Here our volunteers work together to plan what to plant, tend to what is growing, and harvest the crops when they are ready.

If you’d like to try your hand at gardening in a relaxed and sociable environment then get in touch at emily@freshstartweb.org.uk

Fresh Start Community Growing Space picture
Fresh Start Community Growing Space

We’ve also been running cooking classes from the Craigmillar Hearts Community Club. Here we have small volunteer led groups who learn to cook healthy meals on a budget. These classes run twice a week (Monday and Wednesday afternoons) and are of no cost to attend. The course runs for 4 weeks.

Over the past few months we’ve made a huge selection of foods from the traditional Scottish haggis, neeps and tatties to the traditional African sadza. If you’d like to learn a little more about cooking healthy meals, we would love to hear from you; please get in touch at emily@freshstartweb.org.uk

Healthy pasta salad Fresh Start Cooking Class
Healthy pasta salad Fresh Start Cooking Class

In addition to this our volunteers have been helping new tenants to decorate their homes through our hit squad services. We work with new tenants who have a history of homelessness, and our volunteers work together with the tenant to transform up to 2 rooms within their home with a lick of paint.

The transformations are amazing, and the feedback from the tenant about their day is always highly positive. If you are able to commit to a full day of volunteering at least once a month, and would enjoy a practical volunteering role, then please get in touch for more information.

Fresh Start Hit Squad room transformation
Fresh Start Hit Squad room transformation

Each month after this we plan to update you on what’s growing in our garden, provide recipes from our cooking class and provide a general update on our services.

If you yourself would like to join in with the cooking or gardening sessions please do not hesitate to get in touch. We currently have free spaces for a classes starting in the new year on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Similarly, if you are a visiting support agency and would like more information on how to refer individuals to any of our service, get in touch with us for more information

You can email emily@freshstartweb.org.uk with any questions or queries relating to any of the services, or use the contact form below.

Look forward to hearing from you soon

Emily Arthur

Fresh Start

 

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