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Waverley Care is Scotland’s leading HIV and hepatitis C charity. Everything we do is guided by the experiences of the people we work with, from shaping the services we deliver to influencing national policy around sexual health and blood borne viruses.

Big Hearts is a family-focused charity dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families at risk of social isolation. As charity of Heart of Midlothian FC we use the power of football to reach out and support those who need our help most. We work closely with charities, local partners and hundreds of Big Hearts Volunteers to create positive social change. We are committed to address identified areas of need: - Support Families in Kinship Care - Improve the Wellbeing of Older People - Build a Community where All Cultures Thrive Together - Make a Difference to Families Living in Poverty - Develop Initiatives Promoting Positive Mental Health Last year Big Hearts helped over 2,285 vulnerable people through the delivery of 17 projects.

Caring is a very personal task, often resulting in loneliness and social isolation. VOCAL is developing initiatives to tackle issues faced by carers by bringing carers together in the community at Conversation Cafés. Our Conversation Cafés are held in informal settings where like-minded unpaid family carers (dementia, disability or parent carers etc) can meet to talk freely about their caring role. We have just completed a successful pilot of drop-in Conversation Cafés once a week in Edinburgh. This project exists to empower carers by helping to build their social support network, share peer experiences and improve mental well-being. We anticipate that carers attending our Conversation Cafés will report improvement in one or more of the following areas; • being better informed about issues linked to their caring role • improved confidence in their ability to shape services and support • improved confidence in managing their caring role • improved physical and mental wellbeing • improved confidence in their ability to deal with their changing relationships • improved economic wellbeing • improved social wellbeing • improved personal safety The Conversation Café project has had fantastic feedback from carers during the pilot project saying it is a welcoming, safe and comfortable environment to talk freely about their carer roles.