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.

Tuesday 19th Jan, 2021
‘You Never Know Who Is Struggling’ – Catherine’s Story
By Catherine (Family Member) It’s nearly five years now… five years in which so much in my life has happened. Milestones that my dad should have seen. My graduation from university, my first ‘adult’ job, my moving away from home, meeting my boyfriend and buying a house. All the milestones that my dad should have […]

Friday 18th Dec, 2020
A COVID Christmas!
Christmas is an inescapable date in the calendar. Love it or hate it – we can’t avoid it! Even a global pandemic cannot stop the debates on who is hosting this year and how big a turkey do we really need? And it’s true that with the ongoing uncertainty caused by COVID-19 there has been comfort in […]

Friday 18th Dec, 2020
Planning & Self-Care Over The Holidays
Christmas can be a challenging time when you are supporting a loved one who uses alcohol and/or drugs. The perfect picture of the family around the dinner table that we are so used to seeing is very unrealistic for most of us and the pressure of spending time together as a family can cause anxiety […]