£1m to transform young lives

BBC Children in Need and the Hunter Foundation have announced an ambitious project which they hope will transform the lives of young people in Dundee.

A spokesman said that in the first phase of the partnership £1 million will be allocated to Dundee City Council to fund a three-year project with an initial focus on supporting young people in Lochee.

He said t hat f urther funding awards will be announced shortly.

Simon Antrobus, chief executive of BBC Children in Need, said: “We believe that children and young people can overcome many challenges in their lives, given the right support. This funding will make a real difference to young people at risk of being taken into care.

“Through a holistic approach that i nvolves engaging with families, local communities and schools, support networks can be established and any problems can be identified early on – before young people enter the care system. Importantly, the programme will be tailored to the needs of the children and their families, as expressed by them.”

Announcing the partnership Sir Tom Hunter commented: “We need to switch from treatment of a problem to preventing it in the first place, the human and economic cost of a young person entering the care system is often very poor.

“We spend a lot and it shows we have a heart but the outcome for too many kids is not good enough.”