The Weir Charitable Trust Funding
We are thrilled to announce that we have been awarded over £17k in funding to support the work that we do with the bi+ community.
Scottish Bi+ Network was founded in 2018, to provide support and resources to bi+ people and their allies across Scotland, through online engagement, local peer support, events, and training.
Bi+ people face statistically higher rates of poverty, domestic and sexual violence, and mental health issues, than their straight, gay or lesbian counterparts.
Research highlights that 85% of bisexuals feel isolated from their community due to a lack of local groups, and a lack of mainstream funding for bisexual specific work. This contributes to the high rates of social isolation and mental health issues in the bi+ community.
To date, we have directly supported more than 800 bi+ people and their allies through events, talks, training, plus our online forum, and many more through our social media channels.
The new funding from The Weir Charitable Trust will allow us to expand our services by employing a full-time administrator, so that we can develop and deliver more training and education programmes. It will also allow us to train more local volunteers to provide peer support in their communities, so that we can better support the needs of bi+ people outwith the central belt of Scotland.
Additionally, we will also be able to provide more resources and training through our online platforms, including making a wider range of information and guides available, and training webinars.
Graeme, Secretary of Scottish Bi+ Network, said: “It’s amazing that The Weir Charitable Trust has recognised our work, and with this funding will be able to expand as an organisation, and allow us to support more bi+ people across Scotland than ever before.”
The Weir Charitable Trust aims to support Scottish-based community groups and small charities to provide services across Scotland to help the Scottish community. These groups and charities are likely to have found it difficult to access funds elsewhere.
About Scottish Bi+ Network
We are a network of volunteers, formed in August 2018, to support bi+ people (those who are attracted to multiple genders).
Our aims are to raise bi+ visibility, and increase awareness of the issues facing the bi+ community, both in the LGBTQIA+ community itself, and with the general public.
We do this by: providing resources and online support, taking part in local pride marches, running virtual meetups, organising events, working with other organisations, and raising issues at the Scottish Parliament’s LGBTI cross-party working group.