How does this impact on Community Wellbeing? I work in the third sector as a Community and Wellbeing Practitioner with people aged sixty and over and their carers. We work with a large volume of people who identity as being socially isolated. We recognise that social isolation is normally a symptom of a number of other issues such as long term health problems, abuse, poverty, grief etc. Often our work is supporting someone to stabilise and begin to build confidence in re-connecting with their community. A huge barrier that shows itself time and time again is transport. If someone has a physical health condition or issues with their mobility, this often gets in the way of them being able to access public transport. There are very few community groups that can provide transport due to lack of funding. This results in people being stuck in their home, very much wanting to get out but physically unable. We need more transport for community groups that will support people to use it safely. Why should the Committee focus on this as part of their future work? Social isolation is complex and many of the causes will have to be addressed and studied for years to come if we have any hope of reducing it. Proving funding for more community transport is one of the very simple things that the Scottish Government could do which would make a huge difference to people in communities immediately.
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