Scottish Families Forth Valley Family Support Service

26/05/2026

Join us in looking back to April...

Our 1:1 and support isn't all we do in the team!

Not only did Rachael & Susan represent us at the Glasgow Kiltwalk alongside some of our fantastic family members and supporters of the charity, but together with the other FV kiltwalkers they raised £623!

Funding from CVS Falkirk and Stirlingshire Voluntary Enterprise allowed us to deliver 14 sessions of Project Balance 🧘‍♀️

Book lovers across Forth Valley were invited to a special event with Elizabeth Rose - author of Bent Spoons and Broken Hearts. 📖

Sharlene Ramage delivered a brilliant Connect, Learn & Share session with our families to tell them more aboout Falkirk & Clackmannanshire Carers Centre

19/05/2026

When organisations and services share information about the rights of carers, you may find yourself questioning - "Am I an Unpaid Carer?"

Supporting a loved one who is struggling with their drug or alcohol use can feel like you're "just being there" for someone or "just helping out" because you love them, so many don't recognise themselves as unpaid carers. The support provided by unpaid carers can vary and may adapt to the changing needs of the person being cared for- by doing these things, you are performing a caregiving role which could include:

Personal Care
- Helping with hygiene/getting someone ready for the day.

Medical Support
- Driving someone to hospital appointments, attending clinics with them and assisting them with navigating their own healthcare.

Emotional Support
- Being with someone and spending time with them, especially if someone is struggling with their mental health and wellbeing or they are feeling alone/isolated.

Practical Help
- Organising their food shopping, helping out with their housework, picking up prescriptions

Providing this help to someone for a few hours a week or many hours a week falls into caregiving. If you feel that you might be an unpaid carer and you would like more help navigating this, please reach out to your local carers' centre:

Falkirk & Clackmannanshire Carers Centre
Stirling Carers Centre

19/05/2026

Our next Family Support Group is running today from 4pm - 6pm in Tillicoultry! You'll find us in the cosy Annexe Room at Tillicoultry Baptist Church.

Anyone aged 16+ in the Forth Valley area who is affected by a loved one's alcohol or drug use is welcome to attend! Our groups offer a safe space for people to come together who are facing similar situations, plenty of friendly faces and are facilitated by one of our family support workers.

If it's your first time, and you aren't sure what to expect, get in touch with us at [email protected] or call us on 01786 583299 and one of our friendly family support team will be able to help.

Clackmannanshire & Stirling Health & Social Care Partnership Clackmannanshire Third Sector Interface NHS Forth Valley Change Grow Live Forth Valley

18/05/2026

Join us this evening at Falkirk Trinity Church from 6pm - 8pm for our Family Support Group!

These groups are open to anyone aged 16+ in the Forth Valley area who is affected by a loved one's alcohol or drug use. This is a safe space for people to come together who are facing similar situations, facilitated by one of our family support workers and lots of friendly faces.

If it's your first time, and you aren't sure what to expect, get in touch with us at [email protected] or call us on 01786 583299 and one of our friendly family support team will be able to help.

Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership CVS Falkirk Change Grow Live Forth Valley NHS Forth Valley

15/05/2026

We want to make sure new MSPs understand what life is really like for families affected by alcohol and/or drugs. Fill in our form with your thoughts and we'll use your responses in conversations with Scotland’s new Parliament.

https://forms.office.com/e/5DaiDaQM22

12/05/2026

We cannot thank the wonderful Elizabeth Rose, author of the beautiful book "Bent Spoons and Broken Hearts" for joining us at a very special author event a few weeks ago. This went beyond our usual discussions at our National Book Group and bringing people together for this event was fantastic.

Storytelling is a powerful tool that we can all use to connect with others. This book's power to comfort, challenge and inspire families who may be on a similar journey was evident on the night. Elizabeth shares with the audience a personal, truthful account of a mother and son’s bond throughout the challenges of addiction and mental ill-health.

Guests enjoyed hearing some of the author's motivation and experiences of writing this book, as well as getting to experience Elizabeth reading excerpts from her book and ask any questions. It was a wonderful evening and we thank all of those who were able to attend. 💜

https://amzn.eu/d/02IBDbsN

12/05/2026

It's Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme from Mental Health Foundation this year is ACTION. Action for yourself, Action for someone else, and Action for all of us.

Mental Health and Wellbeing is something we are passionate about at Scottish Families, and we are able to offer out some incredible groups and projects courtesy of the The Community Health and Wellbeing Fund, We were lucky to receive funds from both CVS Falkirk and Stirlingshire Voluntary Enterprise which will help us to keep offering out much needed support to families in these areas.

If you are affected by a loved one's alcohol or drug use, live in the Forth Valley area and are aged 16+, please do not hesitate to reach out and one of our amazing team will be happy to speak with you.

[email protected]

08/05/2026

✨ Fundraising Spotlight ✨

Steven reached out to let us know he is running the 2026 Edinburgh Half Marathon for Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs! We are so grateful for his fundraising efforts, we know he has been training hard and we wish him all the luck for the half marathon taking place later this month.

Thank you so much for choosing Scottish Families as your charity and helping spread the word about the work we do! 💜

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Steven-McLaughlin2026?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

Are you in Forth Valley and fundraising for Scottish Families this year? Please get in touch!

Help Steven McLaughlin raise money to support Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs

07/05/2026

Today is Harm Reduction Day - but what does that mean?

We're sharing some information from Harm Reduction International today to help spread the word! https://hri.global/what-is-harm-reduction/

Harm reduction refers to policies, programmes and practices that aim to minimise the negative health, social and legal impacts associated with drug use, drug policies and drug laws.

The day also helps to highlight initiatives such as needle exchanges, testing and the distribution of naloxone to help prevent overdose deaths. You can access Naloxone here: https://www.sfad.org.uk/naloxone

You can also access agencies across Forth Valley who can help talk to you and your loved one about harm reduction if you have any questions - such as Change Grow Live Forth Valley - who are also running an event today from 10am - 2pm at Kersiebank Community Project, check their page for details!