A Summary of the deliverance of our member CrossReach to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
“Jesus and his followers were People of the Way – as are we today, walking alongside each other.
CrossReach has achieved much this year. I hope that you will “go and tell” of the good things that are being done in the name of the church. We have a great deal to be thankful for.
Our Dementia Ambassadors have been extended into the field of learning disability and this model of support is replicated in Personalisation Ambassadors. Specially trained staff are there to walk alongside people who use services as well as families, colleagues and carers to help them grow in knowledge.
Our partnership with Perth & Kinross and Angus Councils, Barnardos, the Scottish Prison Service, Enable and NHS Tayside in the THRIVE project has been particularly fruitful. Combining expertise, funding and organisational skills, we have together been able to support a number families with a parent in prison. Without support, 1 in 3 children with a parent in prison will develop physical or mental health problems.
The pace of change that care organisations are coping with currently is unprecedented. Self-directed Support, Health and Social Care Integration, the revised Children’s Act and more, combined with funding cuts, the implementation of the Living Wage and the increasing demands of regulation create what some describe as a perfect storm.
This is a challenge, but also an opportunity. When money is scarce, we need to use it more creatively. This means looking at new models of care.
The church is rich in social care provision and much can be done to build on this mission activity. The movement towards local people working together to meet local needs in modest scale services fits very well with current best practice.
We are in an excellent position to take advantage of this direction of travel with around 1200 branches across the country which could be involved supporting people in local communities.
We can all learn from one another and from the work that CrossReach has been doing for decades; and we can all support one another as we seek to walk alongside people in need.
As Jesus walked with his followers, they learned what it was to love God and to be loved by him. So here is a challenge to us all. Who do we walk with? —- who COULD we walk with? —- and who will YOU walk with, to ensure that the church continues to make your community – and therefore our society – a more loved and loving place?”
Find the full speech here (EN)
Supplementary Report here (EN)
Find CrossReach Annual Review here (EN)