Aberdeen Foyer Supports 350 of the North East’s Most Vulnerable During Lockdown

Local North East charity, Aberdeen Foyer has set up an urgent initiative to provide support and assistance to those most at risk during Covid -19.

Recognising that the pandemic was rapidly compounding the complex needs of the most vulnerable, as well as creating new problems for those previously managing their lives without care, The Foyer set up First Contact – an emergency service aimed at providing support to those most affected by lockdown.

The Foyer was awarded 12 weeks of backing through The Scottish Government's Wellbeing Fund and was also fortunate to receive generous donations from several local businesses across the North East, totalling over 100,000 pounds.

This has enabled the charity to address the urgent basic and wellbeing needs of around 350 young people and adults, providing support such as food, housing, financial assistance and counselling.

Leona McDermid, Chief Executive of the Foyer said: “We are so very grateful to all of the local businesses who have donated to our First Contact initiative. Providing meaningful, dedicated support to those who need it most is one of the Foyer’s underlying principles, and simply put, we could not do any of this great work without the funding we receive from the Government, trusts and private sector donations. The impact of Covid is already far-reaching and will continue to affect the most vulnerable - it’s vital we continue to support as many people as we can.”

One person who received much needed food vouchers, fuel top-ups and more said: “I can't thank Aberdeen Foyer enough for helping me through a very rough time. Genuinely, I was really worried about how I would cope. Thank you so much.”

In 12 weeks the specially formed team, supported by additional counsellors, has worked tirelessly to provide the following support:

• Delivered 210 counselling sessions
• Supported 41 people with food vouchers
• Supported 11+ individuals to access qualifications required to gain employment
• Wellbeing packs issued to 53 young people and 44 adults
• Supported 14 families with independent living/managing tenancies
• Supported 31 people with financial advice
• Connected 25 homes with Home Energy Scotland
• Connected 8 people with C-fine to tackle food poverty
• Supplied fuel top ups to 37 people
• Provided 150+ people with digital kit/connectivity and digital training

Media Contact: Gael Cordiner
gael.cordiner@aberdeenfoyer.com