Almost £3 million of Lottery funding will support vulnerable families with young children, help young people leaving the care system to live independently and support homeless young people to live stable lives as seven Scottish groups share in the latest awards from our flagship Investing in Communities fund.

Home-Start Falkirk West today receives £324,842 to provide early intervention support to families in Denny, Bonnybridge and Banknock with children under five years old. The project, Building Stronger, Healthier Families, will offer weekly information sessions, group training and one-to-one support for parents and children on topics that will support families to lead to more stable lives. Over the next five years, the project will benefit 250 disadvantaged families.

Young Care leavers in the Scottish Borders will be supported to live independent lives, thanks to an award of £347,036 to the Scottish Borders Housing Association (SBHA) Plus’ project, Transitions. The project will provide four self-contained flats where the young people will live and a separate training flat where they will work through issues around housing, community integration and employability, as well as progressing into work, training or education. A project which will help young people to live a more positive lifestyle and to break the cycle of re-offending today receives an award of £100,000.

Liverpool Personal Service Society (PSS) will support young people across Scotland through its Ordinary Homes – Extraordinary Lives project, which places homeless young offenders aged 16-17 in family homes with the support of mentors. This will help them overcome barriers to housing, education and employment, as well as tackling any health.

Details on all successful seven groups can be found here.