The festive season is coming to an end, but we wanted to share a little story that we have been humbled to play a small part in.
David (names have been changed to preserve anonymity) secured work and moved to Scotland in summer 2017 with his wife and children. Unfortunately he lost his job, and sought advice from a local West Lothian Council Customer Information Service (CIS) office. He attended the CIS office again before Christmas to let them know he was starting another job on 15th December. Due to the timing of his start date, he would not get a full wage until 15th January 2018. In the meantime, to help tide him over, the CIS office staff arranged a referral to the Foodbank and for a crisis grant from the Scottish Welfare Fund.
As with many parents however, his concern was “no Christmas presents for the children”. CIS office staff spoke to colleagues to see if they knew of any organisations who might be able to help. A colleague had heard about the West Lothian Bike Library (based at Crofthead in Livingston) who have offered bikes to children in need at Christmas…….. so they phoned and spoke with one of our volunteers.
As a result, David went to Crofthead and collected two bicycles for his children for Christmas. David, his wife and their children were absolutely over the moon.
We continue to work with partner organisations to reduce health inequalities in West Lothian, and hope we can help more people like David and his family in 2018. Happy new year to all our partners, supporters and volunteers.