About Scottish Families
Supporting families across Scotland
Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs is a national charity that supports anyone concerned about someone else’s alcohol or drug use in Scotland. We give information and advice to many people and help them with confidence, communication, general wellbeing, and we link them into local support. We also help people recognise and understand the importance of looking after themselves.
When we say family, we mean who you see as your family. It could be close and extended family members, friends, your friend’s family, colleagues, neighbours, anyone.
We were created in 2003 by families themselves who came together to support each other and campaign for recognition. We’ve grown a lot since then!
We support people through our helpline, bereavement support service, Telehealth (one-to-one support), and our family support services in Aberdeenshire, East Dunbartonshire, and Forth Valley. We also deliver workforce development through our training courses, communications and campaigning work, our young person’s project ‘Routes’ in East and West Dunbartonshire, and wider community development including our Connecting Families programme.
We have our own call to action in our strategic plan 2017-20 ‘It’s All Relative’, and we work to five main outcomes:
- Families are supported
- Families are included
- Families are recognised
- Families are connected to communities
- Families are a movement for change
Meet our Staff…
Find out about the dedicated team behind Scottish Families.
Latest News & Events
Here you will find all the latest informative and entertaining news from the organisation.
Thursday 29th Apr, 2021
Family Support Is For Men Too – New Webinar From Scottish Families
Alcohol and drug use affects the whole family, but less than 30% of people who come to Scottish Families for support for themselves are men. Talking about a problem is the first step to getting help but it can be hard to know who or what to ask when facing substance use in your family. […]
Thursday 22nd Apr, 2021
Shuggie Bain Book Review
Can a book or TV programme challenge the stigma around addiction? Shuggie Bain, the prize-winning novel about a boy growing up in Glasgow with an alcoholic mother, didn’t sound to me like a potential bestseller. In fact, it sounded like a potentially grim read for lockdown, likely to raise issues from my own childhood, growing […]
Monday 8th Mar, 2021
Reflections On Our First Online Family Recovery College
Sometimes you just have to roll your sleeves up, take a deep breath and try something new! Back in 2019 we worked with six family members with lived experience of someone else’s substance use to design and deliver a course for The Family Recovery College (FRC). They called the course ‘Understanding Substance Use and Holding […]
