April 2025

The topic of welcome was front and centre during the REALITIES Creative Hub sessions delivered in Cumbernauld over February and March. The 44 Community members who joined us across the 3 sessions identify as New Scots but haven’t come to North Lanarkshire through a formal resettlement scheme. This highlighted gaps in vital support that has impact on people’s health and wellbeing.

Our sessions utilised music and visual art activities to explore the themes of identity, re-imagining, and reconstruct. Using these headings, we can frame conversations and focus in on granular details that would make a huge difference to people’s day to day lives.

For the community members in Cumbernauld, welcome events came up again and again as they would offer “connection, opportunity, support, understanding and friendship”. We learned if welcome events were delivered across North Lanarkshire, community members believe in 6 months “friends would be activated and they would have an opportunity to dream”, in 1 year “I’d feel settled and be able to work hard on their dreams”, in 5 years “I’d be fully settled and a part of my Cumbernauld community”.