Poverty Awareness Training

The Poverty Awareness Training Programme offers free training to support all public and voluntary sector workers in Fife with these challenges. The courses are suitable for people who have little experience of supporting service users with these issues and/or those who wish to update their knowledge and skills in these areas. This training programme is funded by Fife Partnership, through the Plan 4 Fife to tackle inequality and work towards a fairer Fife.

Food Insecurity

Food insecurity can be defined as the inability to secure access to adequate and affordable food, including the means to purchase it. There are varying degrees of severity. Early stages involve worrying about whether there is enough food, followed by compromising on quality, variety and quantity of food, through to the most severe stage which is going without food and going hungry.

Together with the Fife Food Insecurity Group we are working towards reducing the level of food insecurity in Fife and ensuring that people living in Fife have access to affordable, healthy food and the skills and knowledge to prepare healthy, nutritious meals for themselves and their families, whilst recognising the importance of the social value of food.

Supporting Families

There is a need to maximise household income through access to support, affordable finance, concessions, benefits, and affordable energy. We are working with Citizens Advice and Rights Fife (CARF) to improve advocacy and support to enable families and pregnant women to deal with benefit changes, maximise income and be more financially resilient.

The Income Boost project in collaboration with CARF is aimed at supporting families with a child who has a disability (diagnosed or undiagnosed) to access the financial support they are entitled to.

Many families face significant financial pressures, and navigating the benefits system can be complex and overwhelming—especially when caring for a child with additional needs. The Income Boost project is designed to help these families by:

  • Providing tailored advice and guidance on available benefits and entitlements
  • Supporting applications for disability-related financial support
  • Connecting families with trusted local services for ongoing assistance

We are keen to ensure that NHS and HSCP services are aware of this support and can help signpost families who may benefit. 

If you would like more information or to discuss how your team/service can get involved, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Kay Samson, kay.samson@nhs.scot

Income boost CPAF referral form

Income boost guidance sheet

Living Wage and Employability

We work with partners and employers in Fife to promote the living wage and work in partnership with Opportunities Fife, workplace intermediaries and employers to ensure that physical and mental health issues are not barriers to sustaining work.