Voluntary Action Shetland (VAS) and the Shetland Care Attendant Scheme (SCAS) are pleased to announce that the carers advice, support, and information service will transfered from the VAS Shetland Carers project to SCAS this month.

Thanks to funding from Shetland Charitable Trust, Shetland Islands Council, and Shared Care Scotland Short Breaks Fund, SCAS will be able to enhance the carers advice and support service in Shetland.

SCAS will manage and coordinate the service going forward, including a new role within the organisation to provide information, guidance, and practical support for carers. SCAS will also oversee the distribution of Shared Care Scotland’s Time to Live Short Break Grants and Respitality Breaks in Shetland, helping carers access the support and well-earned respite they deserve.

Karen Fraser, Manager of SCAS, said:

“We’re really excited about this new chapter for SCAS. Bringing the carers advice and support service under our roof will make it much easier for carers across Shetland to access the guidance, practical help, and support they need. Carers do an incredible job every day, and we want to make sure they have the advice, resources, and respite opportunities they deserve. As our team grows, we’ll be able to reach more carers and provide support in meaningful and practical ways. We’ll be sharing more information soon about when the service will be fully up and running. In the meantime, unpaid carers are encouraged to get in touch with us if they need advice or support.”

SCAS can be contacted be e-mail scas@shetland.org or by telephone on 743931.

Lynn Tulloch, Executive Officer of Voluntary Action Shetland, added:

“This is a really positive development in the support for carers. Having a long standing, highly respected local charity that already provides well-earned breaks for carers, to lead on this work, this transfer will ensure that SCAS can become the key organisation for providing breaks for carers”