[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f10b3rz2z388kj":3,"$f1bbmj7s72mtrk":16},{"id":4,"blog_author_id":5,"blog_category_id":6,"is_featured":7,"title":8,"slug":9,"content":10,"content_overview":11,"published_at":12,"seo_title":8,"seo_description":13,"image":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15},"01m45vtvk0pdb1y7c1cqv76edp","9cdbdd6d-4900-4646-a012-d3e67a5ee788","1",false,"Panic and Promises Won't End Child Poverty","panic-and-promises-wont-end-child-poverty","\u003Cp>We live in a world that seems to spin faster every day, where all the dials are turned to 11 all the time.  \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The headlines crash from one calamity to another as our political leaders rush to promise emergency action while their opponents demand even more urgency. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is noisy, tiring and a few hours later, when the news cycle spins to another red alert, the last one, whatever it was, is most often forgotten. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For years now, child poverty in Scotland has been routinely described as a national emergency demanding emergency action. It is and it does but, with more than one in five children still growing up in poverty in Scotland today, is it time to ask if the language of emergency and crisis is helping?  \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps it only encourages more haste but less speed, a birling carousel of taskforces and committees, policy papers and special reports, but too little measured and impactful action? Are we even checking if the blizzard of promises and commitments is being delivered before starting the snow machine again? \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What if the endless planning and process is actually slowing us down? What if somehow all the talk is delaying implementation of practical, tested, and effective measures to improve the lives and secure the life chances of the 210,000 children growing up poor in one of the wealthiest countries in the world? \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because we already know what works. We have known for years.  \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, there are no magic bullets, no simple solutions to the complex social issues that have blighted our poorest communities for decades. Child poverty, like Scotland’s drugs crisis, another national emergency, is embedded in longstanding economic trends that have stripped far too many of our neighbourhoods of jobs and hope. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those trends will not be reversed overnight but, in the meantime, we should not let perfect be the enemy of good. As Challenge Poverty Week begins today, the biggest challenge is to see the wood not the trees, to recognise and appreciate what is already working and build on it. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There are things that we know ease the impact of poverty on young lives; that have been trialled, tested and measured; that inch their families from peril to safety; that give them new strength, confidence and a path to a more secure future. So why not have more of them? \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These are services that our charity and others are delivering every day, hand in glove with our partners in social work, health care and education. These are services delivering real, measurable success, making children safer, healthier and happier today and improving their chances tomorrow. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Intensive family support, for example. The clue is in the name. It is the opposite of easy. Any family’s journey back from the very edge of crisis is one of hard yards and no shortcuts. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our teams arrive to work, shoulder to shoulder, with families on the point of collapse, with children often on the edge of care. Ensuring those babies and young people are safe is always the priority but, after that, keeping them with their families is the driving force because that, all research suggests, is the best way to stabilise childhoods and secure futures. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Intensive family support means doing whatever it takes to keep children safe and families together. It can rebuild broken relationships; improve parents’ confidence in themselves; create new connections in communities; and help build firmer financial foundations with advice on welfare rights, maximising incomes and problem debt. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any investment in intensive family support and other specialist services, for pregnant women and new mums, for example, is more than returned in thriving families, stronger communities and money saved. Resource is better spent on intensive support keeping families safely together, than managing their separation through a lifetime of crisis-led state intervention.  \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our two Mother and Child Recovery Houses, in Falkirk and Dundee, for example, offer recovery spaces for pregnant and new mums with a history of substance use, allowing them to recover while staying safely with their babies. This helps keep families together and children at home, improves their futures and saves millions of pounds in avoided care costs. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is true child protection and the big question is not whether we can afford to roll out these services across Scotland but if we can afford not to?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Justina Murray \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003Cbr>\u003Cstrong>Chief executive of Aberlour Children’s Charity \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cem>This article was written for the Daily Record and published on Monday 5th October 2026.\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fp>",null,"2026-10-05T00:00:00.000000Z","Aberlour Children's Charity CEO, Justina Murray, explains what must be done to end child poverty in Scotland. We know what works and we've known for years. ","media\u002FRS873_0E5A9135.jpg","2026-10-05T11:05:26.000000Z",{"id":17,"blog_author_id":18,"blog_category_id":6,"is_featured":7,"title":19,"slug":20,"content":21,"content_overview":11,"published_at":22,"seo_title":19,"seo_description":23,"image":24,"created_at":25,"updated_at":26,"next":27,"prev":28},"01j7drzh7vn687r7xtq6ytsz3x","9cdbdd25-1564-45ec-84de-602c5009ebe1","New mothers recovering from addiction urge rollout of lifeline support ","new-mothers-recovering-from-addiction-urge-rollout-of-lifeline-support","\u003Cp>New mothers, whom we supported to recover from drug addiction, will call for a lifeline support service to be rolled out across Scotland at Holyrood tonight.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The women will explain to MSPs and guests how the intensive perinatal support service in Falkirk has helped save and transform their lives, held their families together, kept their children out of care and why it should be available in every postcode.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>One new mother, once addicted to heroin, said a traumatic pregnancy was overshadowed by the fear that she might not be allowed to care for her baby son.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cblockquote>She said: “I was on the methadone project, just starting my recovery, when my partner at the time died through drugs. \u003Cbr>“That was the night I found out I was pregnant.\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>“Being referred to Aberlour was a turning point. They became my voice and went above and beyond. They weren’t just ticking boxes, it was personal.\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>“If my baby wasn’t here with me, then I probably wouldn’t be here. I’d have relapsed.\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>“My life is normal now. It’s looking good.”\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\u003Cp>The intensive perinatal service in Falkirk, funded by The Corra Foundation, Falkirk Alcohol and Drugs Partnership and Falkirk Council, has offered practical and emotional support for more than 30 women since launching three years ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Independent research suggests every pound spent on the service will save £14 by helping children stay with their mothers and out of care.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Supporters suggest similar support services helping families across Scotland would save millions more on health care linked to addiction and related costs in the criminal justice system. \u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Another woman supported by Aberlour, who will also describe her journey to recovery to MSPs tonight, said the Falkirk service does not just save money but transforms the lives of new mothers and their children.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cblockquote>She said: “I was a chronic drug user, a heroin addict, a crack addict. Totally and utterly hopeless, broken.\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to take my baby home but I was referred to Aberlour and it felt like someone had got my back at last. \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>“Every woman in every area should have someone like that in their corner. Every area needs a perinatal support service like this. It is a massive support. I was no longer on my own.\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>“There is so much stigma around addiction and mental health but there is a trust there and it took just one person to see a wee bit of hope and things are totally different.\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>“I’m proud of the mum I am now. My wee girl has changed my life and I am entirely there for her.” \u003C\u002Fblockquote>\u003Cp>Aberlour, Scotland’s biggest children’s charity, said the perinatal support service is needed more than ever as Scotland’s drugs crisis is underpinned by the impact of child poverty and mental health issues affecting one in five new and expectant mothers.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The charity delivers tailored support to each family whether helping at home; offering lifts to appointments, an encouraging word, or some practical advice; or even, on occasion, becoming birth partners. \u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>It believes the specialist support in the community and two Mother and Child Recovery Houses in Falkirk and Dundee offers a template for similar life-changing services across Scotland. \u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cblockquote>\u003Cstrong>Lynne O’Brien, Aberlour chief officer, said:\u003C\u002Fstrong> “It is powerful and encouraging to hear directly from the women supported by our intensive perinatal services about how they are helping transform lives.\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>“We are taking small steps in Scotland’s long road to recovery but these are steps in the right direction and we should take more and more quickly. \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>“We are hoping MSPs will consider ensuring similar services are available to women in every postcode. Every mother in recovery should have the support they need, when they need it.”\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fservice\u002Fintensive-perinatal-support-falkirk\">For more information on Intensive Perinatal Service Falkirk\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>","2024-09-10T00:00:00.000000Z","New mothers who we supported to recover from drug addiction will call for a lifeline support service to be rolled out across Scotland at Holyrood tonight.\n ","media\u002F01J7DRZH7RGTRM5N9JN7PX5XXE.webp","2024-09-10T10:51:58.000000Z","2024-09-10T11:19:38.000000Z",{"id":17,"blog_author_id":18,"blog_category_id":6,"is_featured":7,"title":19,"slug":20,"content":21,"content_overview":11,"published_at":22,"seo_title":19,"seo_description":23,"image":24,"created_at":25,"updated_at":26},{"id":29,"blog_author_id":18,"blog_category_id":6,"is_featured":7,"title":30,"slug":31,"content":32,"content_overview":11,"published_at":33,"seo_title":34,"seo_description":35,"image":36,"created_at":37,"updated_at":38},"01j6s7m1k4amhcjegkwtxebfc8","Opening of our Second Mother and Child Recovery House","opening-of-our-second-mother-and-child-recovery-house","\u003Cp>We are delighted to open our second residential rehabilitation service to support women and their children through recovery from addiction \u002F substance use in Falkirk.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The Scottish Government has invested £5.5 million to support the development of this facility, as well as our house in Dundee which opened in January 2023.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The houses offer 24\u002F7 support and keep families together by letting children of women with problematic substance use stay with their mothers during their recovery.  \u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp> \u003Cstrong>Wellbeing Minister Maree Todd said\u003C\u002Fstrong>:\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cblockquote> “This house will allow women to access residential rehabilitation services and keep their family together. \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr> “We know there is a strong link between women having children removed from their care and risk of drug-related death. Treatment is more effective when families are kept together and it also reduces the harmful impact on children.\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr> “Widening access to residential rehabilitation is a key part of our National Mission on Drugs. We have made £100 million available for residential rehabilitation from 2021 to 2026 to ensure 1,000 people receive public funding for their placement each year by then. That includes £38 million as part of our commitment to increase the number of beds to 650.”\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong> Aberlour Chief Executive SallyAnn Kelly OBE said\u003C\u002Fstrong>: \u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cblockquote>“We are delighted to open our new Mother and Child Recovery House in Falkirk. It follows the opening of our first house in January 2023 in Dundee, which has transformed the lives of mothers and their children.  \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr> “Both houses offer a unique service enabling women with problem drug and alcohol issues to keep their young children with them as they recover. They provide specialist support that helps women develop skills and encourages them to build new futures for themselves and their children. We understand the need to work alongside women to address their fears.\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr> “We are grateful to the Scottish Government for funding this much-needed new service.” \u003C\u002Fblockquote>\u003Cp>\u003Cbr>\u003C\u002Fp>","2024-09-02T00:00:00.000000Z","Opening of our second mother and child recovery house","Our mother and child recovery house has opened in Falkirk. It will provide a residential rehabilitation service to support women and their children through recovery from addiction \u002F substance use.","media\u002F01J6S7M1K0V4EMY984SF8N2GYG.webp","2024-09-02T11:23:47.000000Z","2024-09-02T11:27:38.000000Z"]