With Kids Edinburgh Open Day

On Friday 18th October, we had the With Kids Open Day at our Edinburgh office to meet the families in and around Edinburgh.

Thankfully the rain stayed off for most of the day, meaning we could get outside and have fun with lots of different activities!

Here's another HUGE thank you to everyone that helped to make the With Kids Open Day at our brand new Edinburgh Office a huge success.

We had such a great afternoon and look forward to seeing you all again really soon!

Here are some photos from our Open Day in Edinburgh...

To find out more about With Kids Edinburgh, please do not hesitate to contact us either on Facebook, Twitter or you can call us on - 0131 453 6937.

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How With Kids Can Help

At With Kids, we wanted to reinforce the vital importance of the work we do for families in both Glasgow and Edinburgh.

With Kids is based in the East End of Glasgow and in South West Edinburgh which have some of the highest levels of poverty in Scotland and the UK.

Although the facts and figures may seem bleak, not all families will have the same issues. Living in or near an area of high poverty can affect you directly or indirectly through crime, lack of amenities, poor educational facilities etc.

As well as this, the sheer volume of families who 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.

How We Can Help You

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.

Breaking Down the 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

To find out how we can help you, give us a call on 0141 550 5770 or you can contact us on Facebook and Twitter.

The actual cost of running With Kids is some £320,000 per year. That means we must raise around £27,000 each month just to keep the doors open. 

If you'd like to make a donation to With Kids you can do so HERE. 

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With Kids article in The Guardian

Here at With Kids it is extremely important for us to highlight that austerity and poverty can hit anyone at any given time, no matter what their background or circumstance is.

Over the past few months we have tried to stress how vitally important your donations are to our Christmas Appeal - but Kevin McKenna's column in The Guardian on December 9 articulated it better than we could have ever hoped for.

The reality of real poverty can be witnessed all over Glasgow this Christmas which is why we work with vulnerable and isolated families in the East End of Glasgow. At any one time, we are in contact with 120 families caring for 336 children.

But to reach all of the children and their families who will need emergency help this Christmas there would need to be another 10 charities such as With Kids. We have witnessed massive reductions in the disposable incomes of the families we help due to a combination of increasing food prices, huge increases in fuel costs and the UK Government's cuts in welfare benefits, as outlined recently by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.

If you have yet to read the article then I highly recommend you do. This is a very interesting and sobering article that hits home with families across Glasgow and beyond - which you can read here. Via The Guardian.

Thank you Kevin for highlighting these issues that are closer to home that many may know.

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If you do just one thing today...

Then I would ask you to take some time to take a look at the kids in your city, and think, really think about what you see. Those kids on the corners that are always causing trouble, the large family down the road who always seem to be fighting and are too noisy, the quiet child with the younger brother and sister who's mother never seems to be there. I would ask you to think about them, not just about how they are a cause for complaint or drive you mad, or the fact that they barely register on your radar but to look past that and consider what really goes on in their lives and why.




The state of Glasgow...

We've all heard the negative reports about Glasgow, about the poverty, unemployment, poor physical and mental health, low mortality levels, addiction, crime, and violence. And we know that children that grow up under these circumstances are prone to repeating a cycle that has often been learned from generation to generation.

We also know from research that children who have not received appropriate love and care in the first 2 years of their lives do not develop or grow properly. Worse still the architecture of the brain is affected and they simply are unable to react or respond in the way that a healthy child can.

The 'unmanageable' children...

Children often don't have the vocabulary or understanding to express themselves vocally, all we have to make sense of what is happening is their emotions and how they behave. This is the lives of the children that we disregard or dismiss as 'unmanageable', the ones who misbehave, disrupt classes and get into fights, that don't seem to listen or care, who seem destined for very little that's good. It's also the quiet ones who fall between the gaps, who seem invisible, have no friends, don't join in with games, and quietly slip away without anybody noticing or caring.

There is hope...

However, there is hope. The right support can have a profound impact and lead to substantial improvement in how they see themselves and others and their ability to cope. Creating a nurturing, stable environment may be the first time that a child can learn to trust someone or to believe that another is interested and cares about them. What should be a fundamental right and that many of us take for granted is simply not experienced by many children. But with proper emotional and physical care children, particularly young children can be incredibly resilient and their life chances transformed.

What With Kids do...

With Kids aims to build early years resilience and self esteem by providing early intervention for children from chaotic or traumatic backgrounds. Working with children using a mixture of one to one and group sessions and also by extending support to the parents and wider family we seek to foster safe and healthy relationships that allow the child and their family to take responsibility for their own lives and live them to the fullest advantage.


If you do just one thing today...

So, if you do just one thing today then please think about the lives and experiences of others less fortunate and try not judge or dismiss them. If you do one thing today – put yourself in their shoes and walk a mile in them.  

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Let's face facts...

We want to put things into perspective. We are a charity working with kids in the East End of Glasgow and have recently taken the same format to Wester Hailes in Edinburgh. Although not all children and families in these areas are affected by the issues we tackle, there are hard hitting facts and figures that we would like to share with you that highlight the need for us to work with children that are living in poverty and its affects.



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

Although the facts and figures 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.


To find out more about the work we do here at With Kids you can visit our website or you can keep up to date with us on our Facebook and Twitter page.

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BBC Three's 'Poor Kids' Documentary- highlights issues that With Kids tackle everyday

If you didn't get the chance to see 'Poor Kids' on BBC 3 the other night, we would urge you to do so as it covers and highlights one of the main issues we are faced with at With Kids. 

The BBC3 documentary depicted the issues of poverty through the eyes of three young children. Eight-year-old Courtney, 10-year-old Paige and 11-year-old Sam, all of whom are living in different parts of the country, however, what they have in common is that they all have similar lives and similar living conditions. 

The kids honest and frank take on their situations reflect the stories of some of the 3.5 million children living in poverty in the UK. This statistic, according to the BBC, is one of the worst child poverty rates in the industrialised world.

One of the three children featured in the documentary was 10-year-old Paige, who, for most of her life has been in a damp infested flat in one of Glasgow’s tower blocks in the Gorbals. Although the tower blocks have since been demolished and Paige has been re-housed to Drumchapel, the issues she faced on a daily basis, whilst living in her damp, mould infested flat in the Gorbals, are familiar to us at 'With Kids'. We work with vulnerable kids and their families in the East end of Glasgow, who are all affected by poverty and the knock on effects that are related with poverty. Our work is based on a preventative approach that involves early intervention, working with children and families in the East End of Glasgow. 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. 

Take a look at one of our videos from our blog. This video highlights the story of Robert Carlyle's early life. One of With Kids ambassadors, Robert was born and brought up in a one-parent family in the East End of Glasgow and was faced with the similar poverty issues that the three kids of 'Poor Kids' were faced with.

There has been a huge response from the public regarding this documentary, that was originally aired in June. According to director Jezza Newman's blog 'the number of your comments has set a record on the TV blog'.  The feedback and general desire from those who have commented on Jezzas blog want to help relieve the issues of poverty and the makers of the documentary, True Vision, highlight ways to do so. There is also despair from those comments in that they are appalled that the level of poverty is so high in this day and age. However, we at With Kids continually work with people effected with poverty in the East End of Glasgow and are thankful for documentaries such Poor Kids, for highlighting the seriousness of the issues. Please visit our website, blog or facebook page to find out more about we do.

We would love to hear your thought and also would urge you to watch the documentary. Please let us know what your opinions are or even if you have any questions for us and what we do at With Kids. Visit our facebook page to share your views and find out more.

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David Eustace becomes a With Kids ambassador - Part Three

Celebrity photographer, and fellow East End inhabitant, David Eustace has joined forces with Glasgow Children's Charity "With Kids" as an ambassador to the charity.

David grew up in a poverty stricken area of the East End of Glasgow, and he knows first hand of the difficulties and disadvantages that most children in the east end have had to experience, so he offers his own words of wisdom to help the children reach their targets in life.

In this final part of three videos, David speaks of how it is important for kids to remember that the only thing that can hold them back is themselves, and how they must make the effort to achieve their goals.

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David Eustace becomes a With Kids ambassador - Part One

Celebrity photographer, and fellow East End inhabitant, David Eustace has joined forces with Glasgow Children's Charity "With Kids" as an ambassador to the charity.

Having grown up in a poverty stricken area in the east end of Glasgow in the 60's and 70's and raised by adoptive parents Jimmy and Susan Eustace, David knew of the troubles that families have gone through in the less fortunate areas of the city, but he encourages children never to let the fact that you are from the east end hold you back.

 "It doesn't matter what your second name is, or where you come from, or what other members of your family have done, it's all about you, tomorrow and what you can achieve. You can have dreams, you can do it, but it will involve a lot of bloody hard work."


In this part one of three interviews, David talks of his up-bringing in the east end of Glasgow, his happy memories of his childhood, and tells us the advice he would give to children in order for them to reach their goals.

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New Ambassador for "With Kids" tells kids to aim high no matter where they come from.

Celebrity photographer, and fellow East End inhabitant, David Eustace has joined forces with Glasgow Children's Charity "With Kids" as an ambassador to the charity.

David grew up in the poverty stricken area in the 60's and 70's by adoptive parents Jimmy and Susan Eustace and says that "It doesn't matter what your second name is, or where you come from, or what other members of your family have done, it's all about you, tomorrow and what you can achieve. You can have dreams, you can do it, but it will involve a lot of bloody hard work."

After leaving school with no qualifications, David went on to become a prison officer in his early 20s at notorious Barlinnie Prison in Glasgow. He said it taught him a lot about life but it wasn't his calling. He said: "Quite a few boys I grew up with ended up in the jail. I tried never to judge them. I tried to understand them".

To read a recent interview in the Daily Record click here.

Check out David's website here.

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A poor show as child poverty is rising in Britain.

Britain is one of the world's richest countries, but it has some of the highest rates of children living below the poverty line. With Kids is based in the East End of Glasgow ,this area 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.

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.

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