Autism Ideas in Midlothian

Wee Break Midlothian is administering a Short Breaks Fund and Better Breaks Fund at the moment. Details about these two funds is listed below:

Short Breaks Fund for adult carers and young carers.  This fund is supported through Midlothian Council and Shared Care Scotland and is designed to give unpaid carers a break from their caring role.

You can apply for anything that would give you a break from your caring role, for example equipment to allow you to continue your hobbies or hiring someone to spend time with the person you care for while you go to a class or group.

Please check below to see if you are eligible to apply:

• The person you care for lives in Midlothian and IS NOT in long term care
• You can demonstrate that you are not able to fund the break yourself and are willing to provide a breakdown of household income/expenditure, if necessary.
• Social Services cannot fund the break
• The break will give you time off from your caring role as the main carer for a friend or family member
• You have been referred to VOCAL from a practitioner and discussed how a break will benefit you

More detailed information about the eligibility criteria can be found in the Short Breaks Guidance Notes.

Applications will be considered by a panel on the last Wednesday of every month.  Applications must be submitted no later than 4pm on the Monday prior to the panel meeting.   If successful, monies will be transferred to you directly within 28 days of the panel meeting and you must submit receipts of how monies were spent within four weeks of your break. Please note we cannot fund breaks which have been booked and paid for prior to panel approval.

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Better Breaks Fund for parent/carers.  This fund is supported through Shared Care Scotland and offers dedicated packages of flexible support to enable parent/carers who have children with a disability or additional support needs to get a break from their caring role.

Please check below to see if you are eligible to apply:

• Applicants must be a parent/carer and providing care for a child or young person aged 20 and under who has a disability and/or additional support needs
• The parent/carer must provide care for a child or young person who lives in Midlothian.
• Applications must be supported by someone who knows the parent/carer and has supported the child/young person in a professional capacity.

More detailed information about the eligibility criteria can be found in the Better Breaks Guidance Notes.

Applications will be considered by a panel on the last Wednesday of every month.  Applications must be submitted no later than 4pm on the Monday prior to the panel meeting.   If successful, parent/carers will be allocated a dedicated number of hours of support with one of our partner agencies and be able to design a package of support that is suitable to them.

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