Young people from our Guardianship service took part in focus groups with the Official Scottish Youth Parliament recently, contributing to their manifesto. This Manifesto will be used to call decision-makers to much-needed action, and to ensure that young people remain at the heart of decision making in Scotland. Read the full document here.
New report published by Scottish children’s charity warns of deepening poverty crisis threatening Scottish families Report reveals a level of poverty that is ‘fundamental and absolute’ with majority of families requesting emergency cash to buy food, utilities and clothing 6 in 10 families who applied to the fund could not afford to feed their children … Continued
November 2020 sees Aberlour launch its Surviving Winter Appeal to raise funds to help tackle rising levels of poverty and inequality across Scotland. The appeal is based on findings in a report published by Aberlour and prepared by Professor Morag Treanor, from the Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research (I-SPHERE) at Heriot-Watt University. It … Continued
“My experiences of being bullied… I was bullied throughout primary because I was shy, ginger, and just because people had nothing better to do. It didn’t get that bad until I got to P6; that’s when most of my friends matured and I never did, so I always felt lost and behind. I lost my … Continued
Volunteering is something that I am so passionate about, especially befriending. I started my Aberlour journey as a volunteer befriender, something which I truly believe has helped shape the person that I am today and the job that I do. Befriending therefore is something which I hold close to my heart. Within our Youthpoint service, … Continued
Volunteering with Aberlour has been a truly eye-opening experience. Over the year and a half that I have spent with Aberlour, I have been helping a young girl become more confident and independent in herself and have been learning more about myself along the way. Volunteering has taught me more about patience and gratitude and … Continued
Today, MSP Angela Constance will lead a Scottish Parliamentary debate paying tribute to our Scottish Guardianship Service. For the last 10 years, we have worked in partnership with the Scottish Refugee Council leading the way in supporting unaccompanied refugee children and asylum-seeking trafficked young people. Find out more below: SGS MSP Briefing Nov 20 FINAL … Continued
Rosina, an experienced mentor and Children’s Panel member, has been with our befriending project since the very beginning. Alongside more long-term matches, Rosina has also supported the project by doing extra ad-hoc volunteering with young people to help them navigate their new city upon arrival and accompanying them to specific appointments. “I was drawn to … Continued
Margaret is a volunteer with Aberlour’s Sustain service in Perth and Kinross. In January 2020, Margaret was matched as a Befriender for a Mum with young children and would meet weekly: “I met with my Befriendee weekly for 2.5 hours, and we had coffee, followed by a walk or trip to the supermarket. On several … Continued
Our One Shirt One month challenge has been featured in The Sun two days before it takes off. So far it’s been backed up by some of our wonderful supporters who will wear the same shirt throughout November to raise money for families struck by poverty. We also received the support of celebrities like international … Continued
Nina began volunteering with the Scottish Guardianship Service in December 2019 after completing the befriending training. “It seemed like something I would be well equipped to do, having previously worked with teenagers. It also wasn’t a huge time commitment and seemed like the activities would be fun for both the young person and myself. It … Continued
End Child Poverty members in Scotland welcome today’s report from IPPR Scotland calling for urgent action by both the UK and Scottish Governments to help low-income families stay afloat amid increasing financial uncertainty and rising child poverty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even before this crisis 1 in 4 children in Scotland were living in … Continued
As an organisation that has children’s rights at the heart of the work we do every day with children, young people, and families, we are committed to supporting, promoting, and protecting children and young people’s human rights. Incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) will ensure the universal rights … Continued
AmazonSmile customers can now support Aberlour in the Amazon shopping app on iPhones and Android phones! Simply follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations, it literally takes 5 minutes! – If you’re not already signed up to AmazonSmile, sign in here using your usual Amazon login details: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/ and select … Continued
Aberlour continues to campaign to end child poverty in Scotland along with other organisations, charities, and anti-poverty campaigners. We want to see the Scottish Government being ambitious in its determination to reverse the rising child poverty we have seen in Scotland in recent years. We believe this begins by getting money directly into families’ pockets … Continued
This week across Scotland campaigners, activists, children’s charities, and others have marked Challenge Poverty Week. Over the last seven days, we have been sharing blogs, reports, research, and all sorts of content and information about the impact of poverty on children and families across Scotland. I don’t think I can say anything more about a … Continued
Having money in your pocket and food on the table does not make you immune to trauma. However, what I know from our work in Aberlour is that the stress for families of living in poverty makes them more vulnerable to the impact of trauma and makes recovery much harder. Working with families living in … Continued
Attending the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, on 1st October 2020, Chief Executive SallyAnn Kelly described migration schemes for youngsters during the early 1900s as “not acceptable”, but said it was among many other mistreatments at the time. She said: “My view as a professional in 2020 is that there were a lot of things happening … Continued
