Today (Monday 18th January 2021) Aberlour has launched its Cash Now Families Always manifesto in preparation for the Scottish Parliamentary elections in May 2021. Recent research by Professor Morag Treanor* has highlighted the stark level of poverty and deprivation for so many families across Scotland. Before Covid-19 around 1 in 4 children** in Scotland were … Continued
Aberlour focuses on helping children and their families early – before a challenge becomes a crisis. This was certainly the case when mum, Anne*, got in touch with one of our services in Fife. Life was becoming very challenging for Anne. She was worried that her son, Mike* was at great risk of falling behind … Continued
Getting cash into the pockets of struggling families is the first and best way to begin to reverse child poverty. That was the consensus amongst public sector and third sector representatives, children’s charities, policy makers, anti-poverty campaigners, and academics at Aberlour’s recent ‘Cash Now Families Always’ online event. Aberlour is committed to ending child poverty, … Continued
Francis has been volunteering with the Befriending Young Refugees service since December last year. It was his interest in supporting people going through the asylum process which drew him to this role in particular. Having experience in befriending already, this project felt like an ideal way for him to put his skills to good use. … Continued
End Child Poverty members in Scotland, comprising children’s charities and anti-poverty organisations, today welcomed the announcement by the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, that low-income families whose children are eligible for free school meals will receive a one-off £100 winter payment to help alleviate financial hardship. Find out more here.
Melanie and her partner have eight children between them and, while all the children do not normally live together, they were all locked down together due to the pandemic. As this was not their normal family composition, Melanie and her partner only received benefits for the three children who live with them on a permanent … Continued
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
