All people in Uist have the opportunity and support they need to be healthy, to live with dignity, to experience wellbeing at all stages in their lives, and to be part of an inclusive and caring community.

Care at Home and Respite Care

Our Home Care Service provides flexible support to meet both the individual needs of the clients and the needs of their family or informal carers. Those in need of care are assessed by the Comhairle and care packages are then arranged with Tagsa Uibhist’s team of Care Assistants on an on-going basis. This service allows people to live well in their own homes for as long as they want and can.

We also provide respite care for carers who have been assessed by the Comhairle to be entitled to support. This allows family members and others who care for their loved ones to take a regular break from caring to deal with your own day-to-day affairs and family commitments, or a couple of days off a week to work or study.

We aim to suit the individual and their circumstances, being flexible to meet the needs of the individual and their family. Through the daily support we provide, and regular review of care plans we make sure that the care we provide is personalised and responsive to any change in circumstances.

We also provide the option to users of directly purchasing home care at a subsidised rate.

Tagsa Adult Support

As well as Care at Home, Tagsa also provides one to one companionship home visits, and social interaction for those who may be feeling isolated. We support people to participate in community life and in healthy social activities. We are delighted to visit clients in their own homes on a regular basis.

Currently we have several activities to which new people are always welcome:

  • Uist Golden Years Ceilidh Club – each month we get together with local musicians for tunes, songs and even dancing, with tea, coffee, and home baking. This is usually at the Church of Scotland in Griminish.
  • Gardening Club – Each week we have a group at our Community Gardens to work together to grow vegetable and flowers, both outdoors and indoors in our large polytunnels. Chats and tea and coffee are very much part of this outing. We take a proactive approach to inter-generational activities in which young and older people can benefit from each other’s company.
  • Sensory Garden – We have a Summer House and Sensory Garden for clients to enjoy being outside in a restful and beautiful environment.
  • Art Workshops – we work with professional local artists to host workshops using different techniques in which our clients create their own art.

Support for People living with Dementia

Support Coordinator for Dementia, Rosie, is available for enquiries and referrals and will then provide ongoing support. Referrals are normally made through GPs and other parts of the NHS, but we are always very happy to receive enquiries directly. This support is intended to help people to live with dementia in the best possible way, accessing the care and treatment they need. The support also extends to family members.

Bereavement Counselling

Tagsa Uibhist has a partnership with the mental health charity Penumbra to provide counselling and support for people who have been bereaved. Professional counsellors, Mark and David are available for anyone who would like to be supported following the loss of a loved one.

Community Transport

For many years, Tagsa Uibhist has been providing a highly valued, reliable, and safe Community Transport service to enable clients to attend medical appointments, day care, adult learning, and respite, as well as shopping and to access other appointments that they need to attend. We provide a professional door to door transport service, which is available to those who meet our eligibility criteria.

This service is available for individuals with support needs and/or mobility difficulties, and who have may not have access to public transport services and who do not have a vehicle or a family member who can provide transport for them. As part of our efforts to respond to the climate emergency, we utilise three zero emission electric vehicles.

Community Gardens and Local Food Initiative

We are a community-focused horticulture programme, growing a wide range of produce for the benefit of everyone in the communities of Uist. Our vision is to provide a safe and welcoming garden environment for our volunteer adults to grow fruit and vegetables, which are then made available to our island community for purchase, as well as the availability of plants, both horticultural (for our community growers) and non-horticultural plants (beddings, shrubs, and trees). In Tagsa we are acutely aware of the need to respond to the climate emergency, and we believe that local food  production and recycling are vital aspects that we can focus on in our community. We provide advice, help and support to anyone who shares this concern.

We also invite the on-site Food Bank to access our locally grown produce for distribution amongst their clients, and have offered our ongoing support, in the form of advice and provision of plants/materials, as required, to our outreach growing projects.  The garden site at Tagsa Uibhist is designed for project areas to work beside community allotment-holders, who have also contributed to the development of the overall vision for the future of the garden.

Tagsa is also at the heart of efforts to boost local food production and consumption, leading the effort to achieve the status of a ‘Sustainable Food Place’ for the Western Isles. We are working towards making the Scottish Government’s Good Food Nation Bill a reality, for example by and to establish accessible procurement processes for small scale producers. There will also be work done to make market linkages for food value chains. A learning platform will be set up for all stakeholders to meet and hopefully forge partnerships.

We are also a host site for NeighbourFood, in collaboration with Stòras Uibhist, providing an opportunity for local producers to sell locally.

Volunteer Programme

We have a growing and vibrant volunteer programme which is based in our Community Gardens where we have recently built a beautiful new Volunteer Shed.  We host volunteers from the age of 14 upwards, including for the Duke of Edinburgh and the Saltire Award. Volunteers can come for just a few hours each week to more substantial time commitments. We aim to provide a social environment in which learning takes places between our team of Gardeners and volunteers, each of whom brings their own knowledge and experience.

Employability

In collaboration with the Comhairle, Tagsa Uibhist hosts employability placements and internships for people who would like to develop new skills.

Find out more – www.tagsauibhist.co.uk