Empowering the blind and visually impaired

The Scottish Centre for Personal Safety (SCPS) was founded in 1997 by current Volunteer Manager, Alan Bell. The organisation became a registered charity in 2013 and aims to raise awareness of the importance of personal safety and to potentially save lives by preventing and reducing violence and fear of violence in Scotland. They are a volunteer-led organisation and their services are open to all and are usually free to take part.

A grant of £2,000 from the Baillie Gifford Community Awards Fund, contributed towards the cost of running Personal Safety workshops for blind and visually impaired individuals in North Aryshire, Falkirk, Paisley and Kirkintilloch. In total 38 people took part in the workshops with all of them reporting an improvement in their self-confidence at the end of the 8-week course. Participants also said that they left the training feeling empowered.

One attendee, who is deafblind, reported that after the training, she had enough confidence to hang out her washing in her garden unaided for the first time in 16 years. Another participant reported how the voice control techniques he gained on the course helped him to defuse two aggressive young people who were intent on attacking him and his wife. By standing in the defensive stance position he was taught in the workshops, and shouting "get back" at the top of his voice he was able to ensure that the young people left him and his wife alone.

The success of these workshops led to SCPS being named "Team of the Year" by the Royal National Institute for the Blind.