POH provides free support services to alleviate social isolation, and overwhelming physical health and mental well-being problems facing the most vulnerable people in the communities.

Our service users includes children, youths, young adults, adults, and families facing challenges of social isolation, poverty, long-term health conditions, marginalisation, frustration, stress, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, stigma, discrimination, feeling tired, hopelessness, financial worries, legal troubles, or incarceration, relationship problems, homelessness, substance abuse, and poor performance at work or school. We provide our services on a non-judgemental basis and embrace diversity.

Pillar Of Hope free services are provided to individuals and groups. We organise and provide:

• Children and Families Support Group
• Young Adults Empowerment Workshops
• Adults Reengage Support Group Support.
• Home Visit Support Services
• Call Companion Service
• Health and Well-being Awareness Campaigns.
• Befriending and Mentoring Services
• Food Crisis and Emergency Finance Services.

Pillar of Hope provides a variety of free individual and group support activities tailored to the needs and interests of vulnerable children and families. Our support services to children and families are designed to meet specific needs, promote resilience, and foster a sense of belonging and connection within the community.

Pillar of Hope provides emergency and crisis intervention services for disadvantaged children and families in our communities and offers free home visits, support services, befriending, and mentoring services to help alleviate a prevailing crisis before deterioration.

Pillar of Hope aims to provide regular free practical life skills such as budgeting, cooking, job readiness, and conflict resolution that empower children and families to become more self-sufficient and resilient.

Pillar of Hope organises various group support activities such as outdoor adventure activities like nature walks, excursions, camping trips, and other team-building activities that help children and families explore nature and connect to the natural world, enhancing confidence, teamwork skills, and self-esteem.

Other support activities/programs provide for children and families in our communities include Sports and Recreation Activities, Parenting Workshops, Peer Group Support Programmes, Cultural and Enrichment activities, and Family Fun Days and Celebrations.

Pillar of Hope POH organises weekly young adult group activities meetings/workshops tailored to improve users’ relaxation and reduction of stress, learn new skills, be creative, spend time in nature, and look after their physical health and mental well-being. The focus is on peer support initiatives involving mutual help, empathy, and empowerment among young adults who share similar experiences or challenges. This fosters a sense of belonging, reduces stigma, and promotes positive outcomes. We provide age-related recreational activities, and health and wellness training to develop good hygiene practices, eat a balanced diet, learn healthy sleep habits, develop employment skills, and stay active while having fun and making friends.

POH also organises and provides a one-week respite retreat three or four times a year for vulnerable young adults. It involves outdoor adventure, friendship, and relaxation for participants who may be unpaid family members’ carers or may not have had the opportunity to go on holidays in a long time, to be happy, have fun, learn new skills, and grow in confidence. The Young People’s Respite Retreat takes place within Aberdeen City and around the Grampian areas in an enabling environment for improving networking skills and active lifestyles, exercise experiences, and sharing of ideas.

The adults’ group activities involve regular tea meetings to re-engage vulnerable adults who are facing social isolation and loneliness due to challenging social, health, and mental well-being issues. The group activities are tailored to meet the alleviation of loneliness and social isolation experienced by older people living alone and suffering from some challenges like long-term health conditions and mental well- being issues. Reengage activities provide vital, life-enhancing social connections at a time in vulnerable adults’ lives when their social circles are diminishing. There is evidence that many adults facing health and social problems in the communities are isolated at home, but through POH re-engaging them, they shall find companionship, friends, and hope. The fortnightly engaging meetings are a chance for a change of scenery and regular opportunities for conversation, sharing of experiences, and laughter with friends.

There is also free one-on-one social support service for our service users in their homes or out of their homes during events when required. POH recognizes that many vulnerable people in our communities are not confident enough to seek and get help for mental well-being and other long-term illnesses out of fear of public opinion, fear of costs, or simply fear of the unknown. Therefore, taking the extra steps of making our one-on-one support services available for such vulnerable adults will promote intervening early and vital to one’s physical health mental well-being, and social restoration.

POH has a ‘call companions service’ which enables vulnerable adults receiving our services to call on the phone, seek advice and, information, or have a few minutes chat if feeling lonely or worried, with our trained staff and volunteers. They can chat about anything that may be important or of help to them which can make a significant positive impact on them, making them feel cared for and improving their sense of well-being, among other things. All relevant policies and laws of data confidentiality are observed in this service.

POH workers and volunteers are trained to work intensively to build rapport and put plans in place that limit risk by involving the community and using the voluntary, least restrictive options and strengths-based approaches. POH will use trained volunteers to visit vulnerable adults especially those with long-term health conditions and their families and offer them informal, friendly, and confidential support in their own homes.

Pillar of Hope organises campaigns and enlightenment programmes activities on public health and self-management enlightenment campaign seminars and workshops, in Aberdeen City and other parts of Scotland. We promote better health and well-being awareness strategies - community-led health improvement and health self-management awareness campaigns. We campaign and raise awareness about the rising underlying causes of health-related inequalities, poverty, and discrimination among vulnerable people in the communities.

We promote prevention, and management of strategic information to minimise fast deterioration of physical and mental health well-being and they will no longer be able to live on their own in the community. Such vulnerable people may end up in the hospital or nursing care home or even die.

Pillar of Hope provides befriending and mentoring services for vulnerable young people and adults who are socially isolated or about to be socially isolated. We offer companionship through our trained volunteer befrienders working under the guidance of POH to alleviate social isolation and loneliness, disadvantages from language or cultural barriers, non-close family or friends, fear of crime, losing contact with family or friends, bereavement, relationship/domestic abuse, discrimination, poverty, stigmatization, and racism, that can culminate into mental health well-being crises such as depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.

Befriending supports vulnerable adults to experience new companionship and learn new skills. If leaving the house is impossible, we fund befrienders to visit regularly. Our team includes our trained staff, as well as volunteers.

Through our network of trusted local partners, Pillar of Hope has initiated a programme of supporting individuals in food crises with hamper packs and other food items and has plans to open a food bank to cushion the effects of poverty for those experiencing increasing hardship in the communities. Free food items/nutritious food kits, toiletries, personalized healthcare facilities, and Emergency Cash/short-term or one-off financial assistance depending on individual circumstances are being provided. Economic struggles, job loss, or financial instability can lead to stress, anxiety, substance misuse, and depression. People may have difficulty accessing essential resources like food, housing, and healthcare, which can further exacerbate their mental health issues.

Many beneficiaries rely on the generosity of charities to feed their children each month, and we wish to reach out to as many families as possible.

Many vulnerable individuals and families live from hand-to-mouth and routinely choose between eating, heating, or toiletries. Continued poor living difficulties make people live in fear of needing and not affording basic needs or getting immediate help. Such persons increasingly struggle with their mental well-being, self-isolating, and the risk of severe illness and injury.