SCDI Forum 2023 Donations

At Children First our ambition is for every child in Scotland to be safe, loved and well with their family. As a charity we offer emotional, practical, and financial support to help families to put children first and campaign to uphold the rights of every child. Your support will help us to keep doing this.

How we help children and families across Scotland:

• Supporting across Scotland: With 18 local services and 6 national services, our services across the country work with families facing difficulties caused by (for example) poverty, drug and alcohol issues, domestic abuse, mental health issues, and past trauma. We deliver one-to-one recovery support, group work, and drop in sessions that offer hot food, fun activities, and peer support. By offering direct and whole family support and working within communities to facilitate group work and peer support sessions, we help families to find their solutions to the challenges they face, and help them build the skills they need to cope with whatever the future holds. Find out more
• Support Line: Our National Support Service Children First Support Line is available 365 days a year over the phone and via text or webchat to anyone concerned about a child. It provides free trauma-informed support and advice on either a one-off or more regular basis if needed, and last year delivered more than 8,500 support interactions to 2,700 adults.
• Money Advice Support: Extended to cover the whole of Scotland due to the huge demand for financial support during the pandemic, our expert Money advice staff deliver trauma-sensitive support to help families manage debt and maximise income. In 2021-22, we worked with 368 families, achieving a financial gain of £590,492.62 and managing £41,492.26 worth of debt.
• Scotland’s First Bairns Hoose: Currently, once a crime has been reported, any children involved will need to speak to a multitude of different people – the police, social workers, doctors, nurses and others who are trying to help. This can mean they have to relive what has happened to them up to 14 times to different people in different places, often without loved ones present. We want to change this. So, based on the internationally-renowned Barnahus model, we are creating Scotland’s first Bairns Hoose. Find out more

Any amount at all you can give is appreciated - every single penny you donate will help us keep more children in Scotland safe and well.