With Kids is a new project offering a new approach to working with children.

Our model is child centered and recognises that all too often children are invisible citizens with rights they cannot exercise because they are too young to do so and because they do not have the support of an adult who can help them to access the services to which they are entitled. Central to this work are the core concepts of building self esteem and the desire to “skill up” children and crucially also the carers of children.

Our approach is rooted in a belief of the value of each individual child, the fundamental inter–relatedness of their physical, emotional and social needs and the power of love and care to transform their life chances.

We hear a great deal about the problems in our society, family breakdown, binge drinking, drug abuse, child abuse, youth offending, homelessness, physical and mental ill health, suicide, crime and violence. Recent discoveries in psychology and neuroscience have confirmed that many of these problems can be traced back to difficulties in the care adults received in their early years. With Kids is based on a preventative approach that involves early intervention, working with children and families, using a range of evidence based strategies. At the core of our ethos is the belief that individuals, including children, given the right support, know the best solutions to their difficulties. Our challenge is to reinforce, not undermine this innate authority.

Why With Kids is needed:

With Kids is based in the East End of Glasgow which has some of the highest levels of poverty in Scotland and the UK.  Although the facts and figures that follow may seem bleak, not all families will have the same issues. However, living in or near an area of high poverty can affect you directly or indirectly through crime, lack of amenities, poor educational facilities etc.  And the sheer volume that may need help means that sometimes children and families might not get the support they need; a parent struggling with a child with a learning difficulty or emotional issue might not know where to turn, a parent who's a former addict may be afraid to ask for help in case social services intervene.  All families, regardless of background find that they have difficulties from time to time and too often parent's may not be aware of available support or the best action to take. With Kids aims to fill that gap and to provide flexible support that is suited to the needs of children and parents.  

Some Facts and Figures:

In some postcode areas in the east end of Glasgow, 60% of children live in workless households, almost 50% of adults of working age are on incapacity benefit and life expectancy can be as low as 54.  - Glasgow Herald

Over 90,000 children in Scotland live in severe poverty - of these: 

72% of children parents’ are not in work

66% of children are in families claiming income support, job seekers allowance and incapacity benefit,

45% of mother’s of children have no educational qualification,

1 in 2 children live in single parent families,

10% of children are from an ethnic minority, compared to 2.6% not in poverty,

41% of children live in families with a disabled adult, compared to 17% of children not in poverty.  - Living Below the Radar: Measuring Severe Child Poverty in the UK - Save the Children

Poorer children are five times more likely to regularly miss school. - BBC News

Poverty in Glasgow is being blamed for malnutrition in almost one in five youngsters who attended a children's hospital in the city.  Health experts say many families cannot afford a more varied diet.  - BBC News

Scotland has the worst child poverty, the worst diet and the worst dietary illness in Europe. - Danny Phillips, Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland

In Scotland half the working-age adults who are long-term sick or disabled are assessed as being at high risk of developing a mental illness.  By contrast, only one in seven of those who are in work are assessed as being at high risk.  For those who are unemployed, around one in three are assessed as at high risk.  - The Poverty Site

Addiction of all types - to nicotine, alcohol and drugs - is often found in people with a wide variety of mental illnesses. Clinical reports state that at least half of those who seek mental health treatment have some type of addiction.  - Science Daily

Drug addiction is more frequent in individuals who have a mental illness compared to individuals without any mental disorder. Likewise, people who are drug dependent are more likely to suffer from mental disorders than non-dependent people.  - Green Facts

NHS audits show that there were more than 10,700 emergency admissions to Glasgow hospitals for adults with alcohol-related problems over a 12 month period from 2007 to 2008.  Statistics from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde reveal that 42% of Glasgow’s schoolchildren admit to being drunk at least once a month, with a further 27% admitting they are drunk on at least a weekly basis.  In 2009 eight children under the age of 12 from Glasgow were admitted to hospital because of excessive alcohol consumption. Areas of high deprivation such as Glasgow East, have almost double the percentage of smokers than in affluent areas.  - Evening Times

There are around 100 suicides amongst young adults each year, mostly males.  The suicide rate in Scotland for 15-24 year olds is more than double the rate in England and Wales.  Research suggest that suicides are twice as common in the most deprived areas of Scotland.  - The Poverty Site