The Scottish Centre for Personal Safety course for blind and visually impaired people won Pioneering Project at the Scottish Charity Awards
A project that teaches self-defence to blind people has won the Pioneering Project award at the Scottish Charity Awards 2018.
The Scottish Centre for Personal Safety (SCPS) picked up the award after working with blind Scots to design and create personal safety course for blind and visually impaired people.
Blind people are more than twice as likely to be attacked than a sighted person, mostly because they can’t identify their attacker.
As a result they are often fearful of going outside, and particularly anxious at night.
The course has increased the confidence of participants and instructors and is being roled out at various venues throughout Scotland.
SCPS volunteer executive manager Alan Bell said: "We are delighted to win the Pioneering Project Award for our work in developing confidence building Personal Safety courses for people who are blind or visually Impaired.
“It is a great honour to have our work recognised in this way. Thank you to all who helped make this possible including our registered blind instructors David Black and Michael McAllister plus Scottish War Blinded and the Forth Valley Sensory Centre who all helped us develop this training. Thank you."
Organised annually by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), the Scottish Charity Awards celebrate the amazing work that people within charities and community groups do every day, all over the country, to help those in need and raise awareness of important causes.
Andrew Burns, convener of SCVO, said: “A huge congratulations to our winners and all of this year’s finalists. Each of the 40 individuals and organisations shortlisted make a huge difference to the communities they work with, and I’m delighted that we have been able to bring the third sector together to both recognise and celebrate their achievements. We received over 13,000 votes for the People’s Choice Award so I would also like to thank all those who contributed to the evening by voting for their favourite charity. A wonderful night had by all.”
This year 40 finalists were shortlisted, with one charity winning two awards, and an additional two finalists receiving special commendations for their work.
