Showcase - Aberlour's Bridges Glasgow service
Bridges Glasgow is an Action Research Service which works to improve the educational outcomes, health and social wellbeing of children affected by parental substance use in the Glasgow area.Project Background:
Research suggests that children living in alcohol and drug using households are more vulnerable to poor attendance at school, under achievement academically, lower levels of involvement in the social life of the school and lower levels of involvement in extra curricular activities such as sport. For many children there will be a degree of parental ambivalence towards education and health.
Bridges works to improve the educational outcomes, health and social wellbeing of children affected by parental substance use in the Glasgow area. Based in Possilpark, the service focuses on working with children and young people whose parents need to develop parenting skills and to enhance their child's learning and aspirations.
The remit of the Bridges service is to work with parents who are currently using substances. The aim of the service is to seek referrals of families at an 'early intervention' stage rather than when a family is in a crisis situation.
Some of the types of interventions and supports undertaken by service staff:
- Practical help with budgeting, shopping and cooking
- Early morning support to organise children for school
- Accompanying parents to other agency meetings and social activities
- Parenting programme: Even Better Parents
- Child and family-focussed play sessions
- Structured group work and individual sessions with children in school
- Aberlour Bridges is the only service of its type working in the Possilpark area. The service works with children living with parents with drug and/or alcohol issues. The Bridges team work with the children at school and also support them at home to make sure the children get the most out of their education.
- Aberlour Bridges works with the whole family and the whole child. Aberlour Bridges recognises that working with a child in school is only one small part of the support they need. Staff will help parents to establish routines and time to support their children with their school work at home. For example, preparing children for school, feeding children appropriately, ensuring that homework can be completed in the family home and ensuring a healthy sleep pattern are some of the essential elements to give children in families with parental substance use the support they need lead healthy lives.
Aberlour Bridges is a unique partnership with Glasgow services including; social work, education, health visitors and funding partners. The service works with these partners to identify families who would benefit from support at an early stage to ensure their children cope with school.- Aberlour Bridges is an action research project. Aberlour Bridges is taking an innovative approach whereby an external researcher from Stirling University is measuring the difference Aberlour Bridges is making for children and families in the Possilpark area. This approach will enable the service to reflect on the results and, if needed, implement improvements in the service. This process will develop evidence about best practice which will be included in a best practice manual. This manual will allow Aberlour to share expertise with its partners and other voluntary and statutory agencies.
Funding is provided by the North Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership, Greater Glasgow Alcohol Action Team, the Robertson trust and Cash for Kids.
A parent talks about the support she has received from Aberlour Bridges.
Jane, age 29, came to Aberlour Bridges in September 2008 with her five children aged between 3 and 10 years old. She was using heroin and so was her partner at the time. Social services and addiction workers were involved with the family. Jane was struggling emotionally and physically. The children were behind with their school work as the family had moved around a great deal and their life was chaotic.
Jane said: "Aberlour Bridges offers me emotional support, help to deal with my children's behaviour and education problems and supports my kids too because of what they had seen and what I had put them through.
The education worker from Aberlour Bridges goes into school and helps them with school work and homework. The kids are now doing very well at school. Another worker from Bridges helps me to collect the kids from school and is also there for me emotionally when I need her. She has also encouraged and helped me find fun clubs for the kids to go to after school and she's also provided me with clothing for the children.
People with heroin problems are not all bad we have history that maybe we can't deal with and need help to deal with. But now my family are doing well with the help of Aberlour Bridges and I don't know what I would have done without them."
To find out more please contact Aberlour Bridges on 0141 336 2588 or visit their website: www.aberlour.org.uk/bridgesglasgow.aspx