Lottery cash will help bring more separated siblings back together

Scotland’s only service which helps reunite siblings separated in the care system will continue and expand its work thanks to a National Lottery cash boost announced today.

Siblings Reunited (Star), based at Flisk near Newburgh, has been awarded £60,000 to provide volunteer supervised contact for siblings separated through foster care, residential care, adoption or kinship care.

Over the next three years, 650 young people are expected to benefit from the organisation’s work, supported by 65 volunteers.

The project, the only Fife recipient to share in £881,000 from the latest round of National Lottery Community Fund cash, operates from a farm.

The children have access to an animal enclosure, a nearby beach and a wide range of creative outdoor activities, giving them lots of opportunities to play and spend quality time together.

Eileen Black, Star trustee, said: “Every time we see the look on these young peoples’ faces, the joy and anticipation of meeting their siblings, who they may not have seen for weeks, months or even years, is a reminder why Star is so important.

“What they get out of these visits is immeasurable and having regular, positive contact with their siblings can have a profound effect on their behaviour and emotional wellbeing.”

Meanwhile, the Perth and Kinross Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Association has been granted £70,000 to deliver a programme of outdoor activities for vulnerable young people.