Six charities have formed a new partnership in Scotland to roll out the Routes model of support for young people aged 12-26 years affected by family alcohol or drug use.
Earlier this year, the ‘Grow Your Own Routes’ programme was awarded a total of £3.87 million from the Scottish Government’s Whole Family Wellbeing Fund from 2022-2026.
Routes is an evidence-based youth work programme which supports young people aged 12-26 years affected by alcohol or drug use within their family. Routes offers a mix of one-to-one and group support, along with a busy programme of activities and events bringing young people together. There is no time limit to their involvement, allowing trust to develop with workers and other young people, and all support is individually tailored to each young person. The Routes model engages young people to effect change in their lives, recognising that living with chaos and trauma in your family does not need to lead to poor outcomes. Indeed the name ‘Routes’ came from the young people themselves, recognising the important of their roots (where they have come from), but that their families’ actions do not need to define the route they take in life.
The partnership is led by Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs (Scottish Families), a national charity which developed and tested out the original Routes programme in collaboration with young people in East and West Dunbartonshire, from 2019-2022. Routes was originally developed as a national demonstration project, recognising the lack of support for young people affected by someone else’s substance use, and the need for young people to co-design a new approach. Routes in East and West Dunbartonshire is now part of Scottish Families’ core delivery in the area.
The delivery partners in Grow Your Own Routes include local, national and UK charities. They are (along with the area covered by this new programme) as follows:
- Aberlour, Falkirk
- Action for Children, Renfrewshire
- Alcohol and Drugs Action, Aberdeenshire (North)
- Barnardo’s, North Lanarkshire
- Circle, East Lothian
Each organisation will receive three years of funding from the Scottish Government’s Whole Family Wellbeing Fund to establish their own Routes programme and staff team, supported by a national development team within Scottish Families. Recruitment for the local staff is currently underway, with the programmes opening to referrals over the summer period.
Each delivery partner will be expected to roll out the original Routes model, but also involve local young people in shaping how this works within their own community.
The Grow Your Own Routes partnership will work together to share learning from across the country, and to help to promote the model more widely to further areas in Scotland.
Young people from the original Routes project in East and West Dunbartonshire are acting as advisers to the national Grow Your Own Routes programme, for example sharing their own insight into what makes Routes different, what they enjoy about being involved, and why young people affected by family alcohol or drug use want to engage in this model of support.
Justina Murray, CEO of Scottish Families, said:
“Announcing this new partnership is an exciting milestone for our Grow Your Own Routes programme. We have five fantastic delivery partners in Aberlour, Action for Children, Alcohol and Drugs Action, Barnardo’s and Circle. We share similar values, a commitment to put our young people first, and to see Routes grow across Scotland. Most importantly, our delivery partners have all been endorsed by our young Routes advisers, who have rightly high standards and expectations. We all care passionately about the Routes model, as we can see how it transforms young people’s lives now and for the future.”
Liz Nolan, Depute Director – Operations, Aberlour, said:
“Aberlour Children’s Charity is delighted to partner with Scottish Families affected by Alcohol and Drugs to deliver the ‘Grow your own Routes’ programme in Falkirk. Substance misuse has a devastating impact on children and families and we are committed to supporting those affected by it”.
Fiona Steele, Acting National Director for Scotland, Action for Children, said:
“We are excited to be working closely with our partners and the young people involved to deliver this fantastic programme. By combining our collective strengths and resources, we are confident that this partnership will have a profound and lasting impact on the lives of young people in Scotland who have been affected by alcohol or drug use within their family.
“Action for Children is committed to giving young people a voice and ensuring they have a say in the design of the projects intended to support them. The co-designed approach of ‘Grow Your Own Routes’ aligns with our ethos in this area and the history of success with this approach leaves me optimistic that this project will improve the lives of the young people involved.”
Fraser Hoggan, Chief Executive Officer, Alcohol and Drugs Action, said:
“Alcohol & Drugs Action are absolutely delighted to be a delivery partner to Scottish Families and the ‘Grow Your Own Routes’ programme. We are very excited at the prospect of launching this unique opportunity, which will involve us working across the Fraserburgh, Peterhead and Banff areas of Northeast Scotland, to co-produce positive activity and outcomes for those young people affected by alcohol and drug use”.
Karen Motherwell, Children’s Services Manager, Barnardo’s, said:
“Barnardo’s are delighted to be part of this shared vision to improve the lives of children and young people across Scotland. We believe that our collaboration with Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol & Drugs can only increase the likelihood of achieving positive outcomes for our children and young people. We are also looking forward to working alongside our children and young people, ensuring that they are fully involved in the development and delivery of the service and in sharing the learning from what we can achieve together over the next 3 years.”
Alex Collop, Head of Operations, Circle, said:
“Circle are delighted to be the delivery partner in East Lothian as part of the Grow Your Own Routes programme. To be involved in a programme, with such a strong commitment to young people, is really exciting for Circle and aligns so well with the organisation’s ethos and values. In March 2023, Circle had the privilege of meeting a group of young people supported in recent years by SFAD’s Grow Your Own Routes team. This experience, and what we heard from the young people that day, confirmed that Grow Your Own Routes is an approach to supporting young people that is both hugely effective and valued.”
Here are some comments from the Routes young people from East and West Dunbartonshire, who are acting as advisers to Grow Your Own Routes:
“I love that Routes is growing! It makes me so proud that I was part of it from the start, we even thought of the name together! We’ve done something huge, we’re changing things. This is so amazing, our Routes family is growing!”
“I think it’s a really good thing that Routes is expanding across Scotland because then more young people can access support and have someone by their side. You can feel so alone and not know who to talk to without feeling judged. Routes gives young people that support and someone to talk to with no judgement at all, just having someone there helps so much.”
“I have met so many other young people who have been through something similar. I always thought it was just me going through this. When you’re at Routes you can forget about what’s happened and you get to experience what childhood should be like.”
“When I first met a Routes worker, I felt so nervous but also excited at the same time, just about the unknown but looking back, I’m so glad I met them. It’s the best thing I ever did. It’s like a wee family, you can be yourself and everyone is always there to support you.”
“It’s having someone take you under their wing and be like, ‘I’ve got you’ and that’s what yous done for me at Routes.”
“You have saved my life in so many ways. If it wasn’t for you sticking by me and being like a parent I never had and shaped my life into what it is now, I don’t think I would have made it to here.”