A lifeline charity which supports youngsters from across the north-east could be forced to shut its doors in a matter of months.
Children 1st runs a family support service from its office on North Silver Street, Aberdeen, helping those close to breaking point over issues including poverty, mental health, alcohol misuse and trauma.
But the base lost the bulk of its funding two years ago and while charity bosses have been plugging the black hole in the budget since then, they say it is no longer viable to continue investing in it.
Emergency talks are now being held to find the extra money needed to bridge the gap.
Without it, Children 1st will have to cease its operations at the end of May.
The charity currently supports 22 children and families and also has three school projects.
Chief executive Mary Glasgow said: “After discussions with partners, it has however become clear that the level of funding required to support the Aberdeen service, in its current form, is not available long-term.
“We are committed to continuing to support children and families in Aberdeen, and the wider north-east, and are in ongoing discussions with the council about potential options for new local services that meet the most pressing needs of children and families.”
A spokeswoman for the city council explained that a bid for funding by a consortium of organisations, including Children 1st, was rejected during a shake-up of services in 2017.
She said: “At the time of recommissioning, less than half of the referrals to Children 1st came from Aberdeen City Council’s children’s social work service, yet it was the only local public agency which funded the service.”
And she added: “We want to ensure that there is a range of local support available through statutory services, the third sector and other partners which best meets the needs of children, their families and communities.”
Aberdeen Donside MSP Mark McDonald has pledged to host high-level talks to find a solution and has already met Mrs Glasgow to hear her concerns.
He said: “Children 1st is just calling this change a ‘pause’ as staff believe they will be bringing the services back.
“So what I’m hoping to do is pull together discussions around this and find other ways to fund it.
“The problem we have with this happening is that so much of what is currently provided by statutory services is for people in crisis, but Children 1st’s family support services are about preventing crisis.
“There’s a lot of support and goodwill for the charity up here and it would be a big concern if they are not able to bring these services back to the north-east.”
