Children 1st launches crisis appeal
Children 1st is urging the public to donate to its spring appeal, warning of a crisis affecting the one in four children who continue to live in poverty. We have seen a huge increase in the number of families turning to us for support and cannot continue this work without generous donations from the public.
The appeal follows the release of Scottish Government figures last week which showed no improvement in the number of children living in poverty across the country.
The cost-of-living crisis continues to have a devastating impact on families supported by Children 1st, with some struggling to fill their cupboards with food or replace children’s shoes when they become too tight.
Help is at hand through our financial wellbeing team, who work alongside our children and family support workers across the country and help families with budgeting, benefit checks and applications, charitable grants and debt management.
The service has told of an increase in the number of families who have come to them for support over the last year.
Dedicated financial wellbeing advisors at Children 1st have supported over 1,500 children since April 2023, an increase of 92% from April 2022.
They have generated an extra £1.7 million to put back into families pockets through unclaimed benefits, grants and budgeting since April 2023, doubling the amount generated in 2022-23.
In total, the financial wellbeing service has supported 925 families since April 2023.
The amount of debt being managed by the service on behalf of families has more than doubled over the last year from over £325,000 in 2022/23 to over £813,000 since April 2023.
With the rapidly growing need in families turning to the charity for support, we are urging the public to donate so that we can continue our vital work in supporting families like Joanna* and Max* across Scotland.
The family described the support they received from the financial wellbeing team as “life changing” after they received emergency funds to take the pressure off at home and worked with advisors to put a plan in place for the future.
Joanna said she and her children were not eating properly and struggling to pay her bills.
Joanna said: “The support from Children 1st has been life changing. Now I can afford to buy regular shopping so we can have a healthier diet. I can buy Max and his brother things like boxers, socks, trainers and things that need regularly updated. It feels like we have won the lottery!”
After figures from the Department for Work and Pensions released last week showed a lack of improvement in the number of children living in poverty across Scotland, the need for a service that provides professional, trusted advice to families we work with directly is more acute than ever.
Mary Glasgow, chief executive of Children 1st said: “Children are in crisis. With one in four children living in poverty and no sign of improvement, the lasting impact on their safety, health and opportunities could be devastating.
“Our dedicated teams are seeing a huge increase in families turning to us for help. With the cost-of-living crisis and cuts to public services, there is nowhere else for them to go. We want to be able to help every child whose family turns to us for support, but we urgently need the public’s support to be able to respond to the continued crisis.”