£15m funding boost for family projects announced
Projects to support children and families coping with disabilities, mental health problems and the challenges associated with poverty are among those sharing in grants worth £15 million.
The Scottish Government said the funding from the 2017/18 Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Fund will support the core work of 117 charities.
They include Action for Children, Dyslexia Scotland, Enable, NSPCC and Relationships Scotland.
It will also support 30 new projects designed to improve the lives of young people and families.
These include the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Scotland's Best Start project, which has been awarded £84,591 to transform the lives of blind and partially-sighted children under five by helping parents interact with their child and gain access to the right suppor
Minister for childcare and early years Mark McDonald said ''The third sector has a vital role in helping us to make life better for our children, young people and families, particularly those from disadvantaged areas or coping with significant health challenges. Right across Scotland, bodies such as NSPCC, Children 1st, the RNIB and others are doing some fantastic and life-changing work to support them. The £15 million funding for 2017/18 I am delighted to announce today will support the core activities of 117 Scottish third-sector organisations as they continue to work tirelessly to help those in most need. It will also allow 30 innovative and potentially life-changing projects to help a variety of people overcome their problems and reach their full potential.''
Other projects receiving grants include Outside the Box Development Support's Peer Support for Parents project, which has been awarded £48,140 to increase awareness of the needs of families where a parent has poor mental health and increase their resilience.
Learning Link Scotland's Home School Links project has been awarded £40,000 to pilot adult and family learning opportunities in areas with multiple deprivation.
Final decisions on funding were made by a board which included third-sector representation.
Board chair Fraser Falconer, a former national head in Scotland of Children in Need, said: ''It was very encouraging to be able to see funding going to voluntary-sector organisations that are making a big difference for children and young people in Scotland. It was also good to learn about and understand the extra support that the Government is now making available to help many organisations with their monitoring and reports.''