A public vote has opened to determine which life-changing Aberdeen groups, helping people with drugs and alcohol issues, could be awarded a share of £150,000.
The cash has been made available to help tackle the harm which the substances can cause in the city’s communities.
Projects including a counselling service, drop-in sessions and an urban bee-keeping scheme are all vying for a share of the funding from Aberdeen City Alcohol & Drugs Partnership (ADP).
The grant scheme was created following two months of work with professionals, volunteers, the public and people with lived experiences to find out what they think could help.
It is hoped that, by intervening at an early stage, any long-term impacts can be reduced.
Following an influx of applications, bosses have identified 14 projects which are now battling it out for the cash.
The fund is being split into three, with £50,000 available in the northern, southern and central parts of Aberdeen.
ADP lead Simon Rayner said: “We were delighted to see the quality of submissions that came in, which made it a very hard task for us to narrow it down to the shortlist.
“There is clearly a real enthusiasm across our communities in Aberdeen to step in with imaginative projects to help reduce the harm from drugs and alcohol which people can suffer.”
The shortlist
Voting now open
Every resident in Aberdeen is able to cast their vote for the Locality Improvement Fund (Alcohol and Drugs) by ranking their top three picks.
The poll is open until Friday, June 14 at Aberdeen City Council’s consultation portal.
Simon Rayner added: “It’s great that the Evening Express and Press & Journal are highlighting the initiatives that have made it through to this stage.
“I would now encourage readers to take a look at the shortlisted projects on our website, make your top three choices, and vote via the link provided.
“We’re looking for projects that focus on the whole person or community to help build their skills and resilience, and all of the shortlisted contenders do exactly that.”