An Aberdeen family charity has secured a £163,000 grant from the National Lottery Community Fund.
Home-Start Aberdeen plans to use the Improving Lives grant to fund two new members of staff.
They will hire a support worker to help local families, and a co-ordinator to organise volunteers.
Both posts have funding for the next two years, and Home-Start says it will enable them to help 65 more Aberdeen families.
‘Our volunteers are there to help the whole family’
Like many other charities, Home-Start has seen rising demand for their services since the Covid pandemic. They recently called for more volunteers to help them keep up with local need.
The Aberdeen charity provides life-changing support to families across the city through its local community network of trained volunteers and experienced staff.
Starting in the home, Home-Start’s approach is as individual as the people it helps, offering compassionate, confidential support, and helping parents to gain the knowledge, skills and resources they need to give their children the best possible start in life.
Chief executive Eleanor McEwan says the charity has 63 volunteers donating their time, skills and energy to help around 200 families every year. However, it wants to do more.
“On average it costs Home-Start Aberdeen £1,500 to support a family through the challenges they face until they can cope again,” says Eleanor. “Our volunteers are there to help the whole family and to reach children in their vital early years to ensure they have the best possible start in life.
“The continuation of this grant funding from The National Lottery Community Fund reinforces Home-Start Aberdeen’s importance as a source of support and allows us to keep making a positive impact for families who need our help.”
Can you help?
Lottery players raise £30 million a week for good causes in the UK. The community fund is currently focused on supporting people in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Home-Start’s work stretches back much further, with three decades helping families to avoid crisis and breakdown. Lottery community fund chairwoman Kate Still said their work is “a great example of community activity in action”.
If you can help Home-Start Aberdeen, the charity would love to hear from you.
For more information, visit www.homestartaberdeen.org.uk
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