Charity Targets London Scots Trapped in Poverty
LONDON - A charity has been launched to help poverty-stricken Scots living in London. The actress Blythe Duff, of Scots police drama Taggart, and a former leader of the Conservative Party, Iain Duncan Smith, opened the ScotsCare charity's headquarters in Covent Garden.
A tenth of the estimated 340,000 people of Scottish origin in greater London live in poverty, face chronic illness or loneliness, or a combination of all three.
ScotsCare aims to help them on a number of levels, ranging from giving funds to those with chronic illnesses or in poverty to visits by trained volunteers to the lonely or elderly. It also aims to give grants to students unable to study without financial aid.
“This is a very special charity for people of Scottish origin who fall into need in London and I am delighted to support their wonderful work,” Duff said. Duncan Smith, who was born in Edinburgh, added, “I feel particular concern for my fellow countrymen who have fallen on hard times in London and it is wonderful that ScotsCare will help alleviate their suffering.
“ScotsCare is typical of the sort of community groups and charities we work with at the Centre for Social Justice, which I set up in Lambeth.”
The charity's chairman, Wylie White, said, “It is a sad fact that the lure of London turns sour for some young people and unfortunate older people face heart-rending problems with chronic illness and poverty. ScotsCare will provide a helping hand for those whom the system overlooks, in the best traditions of Scottish fellowship.”
First and second-generation Scots in the greater London area qualify for help. The charity does not discriminate on grounds of race, religion, sexual orientation or background.
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