Families First St Andrews

Wed, Jul 25th 2018 at 12:50 pm - 2:00 pm

Morag Coleman explained the work of this small group of volunteers

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Morag Coleman, manager of the charity,”Families First St Andrews,”addressed Wednesday’s meeting. The charity began in a small way when members of the Baptist Church helped newcomers to the area with home decoration and gardening. The church in St Andrews is still a focal point, providing a rent-free meeting place. By 2001 Families First became a limited company. It has earned the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. The organisation assists children from 5-16 years in North East Fife. This dovetails perfectly with “Home Start” which cares for 0-5 years of age. Last year 156 children were helped because of adverse childhood experiences. These may include poverty, bereavement,autism and behavioural problems. At the same time 25 adults were assisted. They may well have suffered themselves as children. There are 6 trained full-time staff and 80 trained volunteers, many being students from St Andrews University. Families First provides a one-to-one befriending service for 60 children each year. Today, Morag finds herself primarily a fund raiser in competition with other organisations. A number of charities have simply closed down, burdened by bureaucracy. The vote of thanks was delivered by Bill Whyte who expressed our admiration for what amounts to a social work service in the voluntary sector.

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