New Year New Premises for FEAT

Mental health charity, Fife Employment Access Trust (FEAT), will move out of their premises in Glenrothes this week after twenty years in the town. The charity, which helps people who have had experience of mental health issues into employment, will move into Silverburn Park near Leven with many of their services now being based outdoors on online. The charity has been leading the regeneration of the 27-acre public park since 2014, formally taking on the lease in 2019.

“It made sense to be closer to Silverburn as it has proved more and more useful to be able to get clients into nature, which is so helpful for everyone’s mental health. Some of our courses, such as ‘Employ Your Mind’, are already being run completely outdoors. We also have a number of course participants volunteering at the park and some have even ended up with a job there,” said Duncan Mitchell CEO of FEAT. “In addition our services have largely moved online over the past year due to the pandemic and so it was a no brainer. We can now save money and cut our carbon footprint too.”

FEAT are fund raising at present for a multi-million pound visitor centre and community hub at the iconic former flax mill within the park, which will include offices for FEAT plus a café and restaurant, a shop, backpackers’ hostel with en-suite rooms, arts and craft studios, public toilets with fully accessible Changing Space facilities, as well as spaces for meetings, events and learning. The premises, which it is hoped will open in 2025, when it is planned the Levenmouth Railway will also be operational, will take what the award winning charity do to new level. People will be able learn new skills, train in different roles and gain employment.

On Monday the Silverburn will host a 300 plus lantern community art installation, focusing on the local heritage industries of linen and paper making by using images of flax flowers and paper to provide kits for local school children, families and community groups to make lanterns. The installation is a pilot project to see how such heritage crafts could be received when carried out in the new building. ‘Lantern Journeys’ will be held as part of Blue Monday – January 18th - supposedly the most depressing day of the year and focusses on shining a light for positive mental health in these challenging times. The organisation needs to raise a further funds to complete the Flax Mill Project and have so far raised more than £22,000 through a community crowdfund. Of an overall £8million budget some £2.5 million remains to be found, so help is still needed. To support the crowdfunder log onto: www.greenspacescotland.org.uk/silverburn-flax-mill or text FLAX to 70085 to donate £5. Texts cost £5 plus one standard rate message or choose your own amount e.g. FLAX10 to 70085. This can be anything from £1 to £20.