CHOOSING what your kids need more – a warm bed or food on the table – is a decision no parent should ever have to make. But this is a situation that countless families across Scotland are facing every single day.  

The impact of the pandemic on the economy has been well documented and thousands of families across Scotland are struggling right now.

This is why Aberlour Children’s Charity has launched its urgent Surviving Winter Appeal so that no parent is forced to choose between feeding their children or heating their homes.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, Aberlour has been providing increased financial support to families across Scotland via its Urgent Assistance Fund, supporting more than 3,000 children in dire need.

Between March and August this year, the charity gave out over £370,000 in emergency cash grants, with demand for the fund increasing by over 1,000% based on the same time period last year, with no sign that this demand is subsiding.

According to recent analysis of the fund by Professor Morag Treanor from the Institute of Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research (I-SPHERE) at HeriotWatt University, nearly all of the applications received were so parents could buy basic essentials for their families.

Six in 10 parents found themselves unable to afford to feed their children, and one in two could not keep their homes warm.

Applications for funding came from nearly every local authority in Scotland, with 31 of the 32 local authorities across Scotland seeing applications from families desperate for help, with the majority of applications coming from the Glasgow area. The analysis also revealed that 71% of the applications were made by single parents, despite the fact that single parent families only make up 25% of the population in Scotland.

One of the thousands of families Aberlour has helped is Sue’s.

For three years, Angela – an Aberlour family support worker – has been helping Sue with her son Luke, who has ADHD and autism, to give him the same opportunities at school as his peers.

Then the pandemic hit. Sue’s husband was furloughed and the bills and debts began to mount up. With the whole family at home during lockdown, and a new baby to keep warm, utility bills skyrocketed.

For the first time in her life, Sue worried about where her children’s next meal would come from. She was forced to use foodbanks for the weekly shop, and even had to unplug the electricity meter because it was continuously beeping to tell her that the credit was about to run out.

Then Sue called Angela, and Aberlour was able to help the family with an emergency cash grant. Sue used this to buy food for her children and top up the electricity meter.

Sue’s story is not unique. Countless other families are facing these hard choices every day.  Stories like Sue’s, and analysis of the requests received by desperate families the length and breadth of the country, reveal a level of need that is fundamental and absolute.

Families are already living in abject poverty and they need help today to buy the basic essentials that are necessary for survival.  Professor Morag Treanor’s analysis also found the number one reason for families requiring emergency cash was because of parental mental health issues (17% of families). This pandemic isn’t only hitting the pockets of families already struggling to get by, but it is having a hugely negative affect on people’s mental health, the impact of which is far reaching.

Aberlour is the largest solely Scottish children’s charity working to improve the lives of Scotland’s vulnerable children and young people. Not all children are born with an equal chance – Aberlour recognises this and is there for Scotland’s hidden children when others let them down.

Please donate what you can to Aberlour’s Surviving Winter Appeal and help families like Sue’s to put food on the table and keep their children warm this winter. 

To donate, just visit online: www.aberlour. org.uk/survivingwinter