Press Release, 15th October

£300,000 for new family support service

Local MSP, Duncan McNeil, has welcomed funding of £299,200 to benefit vulnerable children and families in his constituency.

The money will be used by Barnardo’s to establish a new family support service, Nurture Plus in Inverclyde and has been awarded by Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland’s Partnership Drugs Initiative.

The new service will work closely with local health and social work services to support up to 50 families annually with children up to the age of 12. The aim is to increase the safety of children impacted by parental substance misuse by providing support to the whole family.

Family workers will support parents and their children by offering a tailored support package focusing on keeping children safe, improving parenting skills and improving the children’s home life and helping families engage with the wider activities in their community.  The funding will be spent on staffing and project running costs.

Fiona Duncan, Chief Executive of Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland, said:

“Everyone agrees that children should get the best start in life and be supported to realise their potential. PDI was set up in 2001 to increase the well-being of children and young people affected by alcohol and other drugs. Every year, we support charities working to support some of Scotland’s most vulnerable families. This new service run by Barnardo’s will provide intensive support for children affected by their parents’ substance misuse.  The aim is to keep children at home and crucially, safer in the home environment while supporting parents to recover from their substance misuse issues.  It is the sort of project PDI was established to support and the Foundation is delighted to be able to fund it.”

Duncan McNeil MSP added:

“I welcome this grant award for Inverclyde and Greenock, knowing that families in my constituency will benefit.  Barnardo’s has a great track record working with very vulnerable families in such circumstances and this project will make a difference for children in their earliest years.  This sort of intensive family support will not only help parents recover from substance misuse, but crucially it will also ensure more children can stay at home safely within their families.  Focusing on what they need in terms of parenting support means Inverclyde and Greenock’s vulnerable children will get a better start in life. This grant from Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland’s Partnership Drugs Initiative will help make a real difference.”