Alternative Routes #CashBack Impact Report 2024 - 2025

In Dumfries and Galloway, Aberlour Children’s Charity has worked closely with staff and community partners to establish collaborative local responses that not only ensured the delivery of vital services, but also fostered opportunities for community connection, particularly when they were needed most.

The learning and positive impact gained from this experience have fuelled our continued commitment to supporting an increasing number of children and young people facing challenges at home, in school, and in their communities. Many of the young people we work with struggle to attend or engage in school, and a significant number are involved in the youth justice system.

In response, we created Alternative Routes #CashBack, building on our extensive experience in whole-family support and close work with children and young people. Alternative Routes is dedicated to helping young people build skills, confidence, and meaningful connections at home, at school, and within their communities. Our goal is to support them in navigating a path toward positive destinations of their choosing and to help them avoid, or disengage from, the youth justice system.

The project offers community outreach to engage young people in spaces where they feel safe. We also provide structured one-to-one sessions, group work, and whole-family support, alongside ongoing work in schools. Alternative Routes is grounded in a relationship-based, collaborative approach and maintains close partnerships with local schools and the Dumfries and Galloway Youth Justice Team.

Our experience shows that a high proportion of the young people we support have complex social and emotional needs and often require longerterm support than originally anticipated. Many are neurodivergent or are currently awaiting medical assessments. We have also seen a significant increase in demand for emotional and practical
support from parents of the young people we work with. This has had an impact on our direct delivery targets for young people.

However, our experience also confirms that supporting parents in turn strengthens outcomes for young people and improves their chances of long-term success. We are committed to closely monitoring this impact and will report on it transparently.

I am pleased to introduce our annual report, which highlights inspiring stories of young people finding hope and building new confidence in their homes, their schools, and their communities. We remain confident in our ability to deliver all project outcomes in the years ahead.