WHEN coronavirus hit Scotland, mum-of-four Marie Evans, her partner Michael Murphy and their four children faced real financial hardship.
As soon as the lockdown began, Murphy was furloughed from his job in a bar, meaning his wages were cut by 20%.
“We weren’t very well off to start with so the cut really affected us,” said Evans, who lives with her family in a two-bedroomed flat in an Aberdeen tower block.
The closure of schools also meant no more free school lunches – a significant bonus for families with stretched budgets.
However, help was on hand in the shape of food parcels and packed lunches for the children three days a week from Seaton Community Church where Evans had made connections through the mums and toddlers group.
It is just one of the examples of more than 200,000 acts of support delivered by Scottish churches during the lockdown.
A new report requested by the Scottish Government and published today shows that more than 55,000 people benefited from support delivered by more than 3000 volunteers.
Evans, whose children are aged seven, five, three and 16 months, said: “I wouldn’t like to think about how we would have managed without the help.
“Money was tight and we still had our rent to pay so the lunches and food parcels took a lot of the pressure off. If you are struggling or need a chat they are always there.
“They also put their kids’ club online and that has been fantastic as all the children join in and really enjoy the songs and games.”
The Stories of Hope report details how churches in more than 180 locations, often in partnership with others, developed support networks and established projects to support the most vulnerable and isolated in their communities.
Projects were active across the country from the Highlands to the Borders, across the breadth of denominations and in partnership with a number of charities including CAP Scotland, the Bethany Trust and Glasgow City Mission.
One project in Dumfries and Galloway supplied more than 800 people with food parcels. In addition, the River of Life daily food drop-in enabled people to access surplus food donated by local supermarkets.
Every day people came to collect food for themselves or those self-isolating, vulnerable or too frightened to go out. Approximately 300 people from the town and surrounding area came to pick up food during this time.
River of Life recruited more than 30 volunteers, preparing food, packing food parcels and delivering to homes in the community. Each delivery offered a chance to find out how people were coping and offer them support and contact. A telephone helpline was also set up. Partners included Lidl, M&S and Dumfries and Galloway Council.
The report highlights how churches partnered with local businesses and other agencies. More than two-thirds of the projects identified were delivered in partnership to provide support to those in need.
SUPERMARKETS, community councils, businesses, NHS boards, housing associations, voluntary support groups and food banks all worked with churches and 11 local authorities were identified, sometimes by multiple projects, as providing emergency funding for weekly support costs.
The report was compiled by the Evangelical Alliance and Serve Scotland but covers work carried out by churches from a range of denominations including the Church of Scotland.
Many of the projects were a “lifeline” for those needing support, according to Kieran Turner, public policy officer for the Evangelical Alliance in Scotland.
“Churches have repurposed existing services and staff and volunteers have been quickly redeployed,” he said.
“New projects have been set up to deliver food, phone the elderly and isolated, support those homeless or claiming asylum, and connect with children and young people who were struggling with their mental health. For many, these services were literally a lifeline – often the only contact in a day when all other normal support networks and buildings were closed.”
Turner added: “This has been a year of disruption for all of us and churches, like many other essential services, have had to adapt.
“This report has highlighted the significant impact churches up and down the country have had in supporting the most vulnerable in society.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here