The Scottish Government have made changes which will affect displaced people from Ukraine who are living in temporary welcome accommodation. From 7 December, if you stay in temporary welcome accommodation, the Resettlement Project Team will seek to help you identify two reasonable options for longer-term accommodation. If you leave your welcome accommodation for longer than 5 consecutive nights you will not be able to return to stay in any temporary welcome accommodation. You will need to make your own accommodation arrangements.Returning to welcome accommodation following an absence longer than 5 nights will only be permitted in exceptional circumstances. You should speak to your Resettlement Worker in advance if you wish to return to welcome accommodation following a period of more than 5 consecutive nights away.If you are in a longer-term accommodation, including hosted accommodation, these changes will not affect you directly. However, it is important to know that returning to welcome accommodation will only be considered in limited circumstances.The type of reasonable accommodation option, location and the waiting time for it will depend on availability.  Your circumstances and needs will be taken into consideration as much as possible. If you or your family members have any specific health, care, or education needs, speak to us to ensure we are aware of your circumstances.You should have been contacted about this directly, however for any questions, further information about these recent changes, or if you think you may have missed information about this, please contact us via the WelcomeHub@dumgal.gov.uk mailbox.

Katrina Macleod, Registered Mental Health NurseThis month, our Resettlement Project Registered Mental Health Nurse, Katrina, wrote a special blog post all about mental health and how to access support. Read a bit about Katrina below, and read her full blog post on NewScotDG.Hi, my name is Katrina Macleod and I am the registered Mental Health Nurse assigned to working with the Resettlement Team across Dumfries and Galloway. I qualified as a nurse away back in 1990 and over the years I have worked in many different areas. Initially I worked as an inpatient nurse and then I took a long time out to raise my 5 children. Since my return to work I have worked in a rehabilitation unit, a forensic unit, an intensive care unit and prior to this post I was a Community Mental Health Nurse visiting people at home.I’m really excited about this new post. We call ourselves Mental Health Nurses because we like to support people to maintain the best mental health possible rather than wait until they become unwell. Our job is to do what we can to prevent people from becoming mentally unwell and to enjoy the best life they can. As I understand it, my role is to offer advice and support to people in Dumfries and Galloway who have come from other countries as refugees, asylum seekers or migrants and to make sure they can access the right services. I can also offer advice and support to staff who are struggling with the things they have been exposed to in their roles. If there are concerns about your own, or anyone else’s mental health, then you can discuss it with me and I can advise on whether Primary or Secondary Mental Health Care is the best option. I am happy to see people in order to make that assessment if necessary and staff can contact me anytime in working hours for a chat if they just want to talk something through.

Celebrating a year of hard work with coffee & cake, what a wonderful way to start the festive season! Those in our English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes enjoyed a brunch at ‘The Usual Place’ in Dumfries as a way to welcome in the Christmas and New Year break and celebrate a year of excellent achievement in their class groups. Please note that no ESOL classes will be running over the festive period. Classes will resume from 8 January 2024.

The team at the Crichton Trust organised a Christmas event on Wednesday 13 December to explore some of the Ukrainian traditions around Christmas celebrations. It was wonderful to share some traditional ‘Kutia’ and to be led in a special Ukrainian prayer of thanks – as well as to be entertained by some wonderful traditional Ukrainian songs! Alongside the celebrations, local members of the guild of weavers who have been helping to support craft sessions for local resettled people provided a big box full of knitted hats, scarves, blankets, and children’s clothes which will be sent to those facing the winter months in Ukraine. 

If you are not registered with an NHS dentist, you may be eligible to be considered for free dental treatment by a student dentist or student dental therapist.Under the strictly controlled supervision of a fully qualified tutor, student dentists and dental therapists from the University of the Highlands and Islands carry out part of their practical training at Dumfries Dental Centre. Student dentists can offer their treatments for free, with appointments available during term time which falls between September and May. You can find more information in the leaflet available in the link below, as well as further information and instructions on how to make a self-referral. 

Hanukkah, 7 – 15 December

Hanukkah is a Jewish festival of lights which lasts for eight days each year in late November or early December. This year the festival runs between 7 December and 15 December. During the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem the Jewish people found enough oil to keep the Menorah (oil lamp) burning for one day; but, miraculously, the lamp stayed burning for eight days and hence the celebration of Hanukkah lasts eight days. Traditionally, Jewish families will light one candle on their own Menorah each day of Hanukkah until all eight candles are lit. Jewish families may also mark Hanukkah by enjoying fried foods (to celebrate the miraculous oil), by giving and receiving gifts to each other, or by playing traditional games like dreidel (a four sided spinning top). 

Christmas, 25 December

In Scotland, Christmas is one of the most significant celebrations in the calendar year, and is celebrated on 25 December (different to the Orthodox calendar where Christmas is celebrated in January). At Christmas time most non-essential organisations and public services will be closed or operating reduced hours. Christmas has its roots in the biblical calendar and celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, but in modern times the holiday is celebrated broadly across households regardless of belief and most people decorate their homes with Christmas lights and, especially, a Christmas tree decorated with baubles. The kindly ‘Santa Clause’ is thought to visit people’s houses in a sleigh pulled by Reindeer on Christmas eve (24 December), and he will leave gifts wrapped in Christmas paper under the tree for children to open on Christmas morning. Families usually gather on Christmas to exchange gifts with each other and to share a Christmas meal which typically consists of roast turkey, Christmas ham, roasted vegetables, and cranberry sauce.Some things to look out for over the month of December include groups of ‘carol singers’ singing traditional Christmas hymns, Christmas lights in towns and villages around the region, and increased foot-traffic in shops locally as people complete their ‘Christmas shopping’! 

Please note that the festive period taking in Christmas and New-Year is a time where many organisations will be closed or running reduced services. Some information on festive opening hours is included in this newsletter, but please remember to check opening hours if you require an appointment during this time.