Increased help for families in difficulties

Support for Scottish families seeking help to deal with relationship difficulties and family breakdown, however, has increased by almost 40% in the last year, according to Relationships Scotland. The organisation, which is the largest provider of relationship support in the country, has published its Annual Review, which highlights the increase in support being offered to couples with relationship problems. Among its services, Relationships Scotland provides relationship counselling, family mediation and child contact centre services. The figures for 2022/23 show that across the charity’s network of 21 member services, 86,000 hours of direct support were delivered, increasing from 62,000 the previous year. The figures also show that the network provided support to more than 14,400 people across the country, up from 13,850 in 2021/22. Stuart Valentine, Chief Executive of Relationships Scotland said: “There is no doubt the pandemic and the cost of living crisis have put a strain on families and relationships, and these figures are a stark reminder of how acute this strain is. “This is a significant increase in hours of support across the whole country, and while it paints a worrying picture of the pressures being felt across the nation, we are encouraged that people feel they have somewhere to turn, and are seeking help to deal with these issues.” The Relationships Scotland network has a strong focus on early intervention and prevention, working with families as early as possible to support them to look at the issues they are facing and helping them avoid problems spiralling. The work of the 21 member services across the country is supported by around 900 people, including over 400 volunteers. Stuart added: “The importance of positive and resilient relationships can not be underestimated, with the damage caused by relationship breakdown estimated to cost the Scottish economy around £3.5b each year.” Futher details are available from the charity’s InfoLine on 0345 119 2020.