Brae Community Cupboard

The Living Well Hub in Brae, run by Shetland Islands Council, NHS Shetland and partners, supported provision of a Community Cupboard at the Brae Youth Centre to support families and households struggling with the Cost of Living crisis. The cupboard provides a discreet, secure and central location in the North Mainland of Shetland for local people to donate and collect items such as store cupboard ingredients and clothing. By hosting the cupboard, engagement between individuals in need and the Hub has increased, enabling them to signpost people to other forms of support such as recreational groups, benefit checks, mental health support and hobbies.

The cupboard was originally conceived by pupils at Brae High School, then designed by participants of the Bridges Project, with the support of UHI Shetland’s Construction Department, to create something to fit the space at Brae Youth Centre. Eleven participants took part in creating the Cupboard, working on everything from design, construction and finishing. Volunteers from local haulage company RS Henderson Ltd transported the cupboard to its final location in Brae.

The ethos of ‘positive conversations’ and partnership approaches mean more people are being able to get support they require using the Hub model. While some are referred to high level services such as Social Work or NHS, most of them are finding what they need through existing resources and low-level actions. This not only helps supported individuals but also takes the strain from high level intervention services.

“I cannot overstate the effect that these suggestions, contacts and meetings have had on the quality of my life. They illustrated a potential future for me when I thought none existed, and I now have a small network of people in my life to help keep the Black Dog at bay.” (Hub user)

This contributes to our ‘People’ and ‘Money’ priorities. People are being enabled and empowered to address the issues they face and help others thrive in the same way, and innovative solutions are helping to support people minimise their outgoings from the support available.