Charity offers services as over 10,000 Fife kids live in 'absolute poverty'

Fife Gingerbread wants people to be aware of the services on offer after the newly released Fife Child Poverty Action report showed that more than 10,000 children face severe poverty.

Out of 64,552 children across the Kingdom, 17% are classified as living in 'absolute poverty', according to the report from NHS Fife and Fife Council.

The national average for Scotland is currently 15%.

Fife Gingerbread's fundraising and communications officer Linsey Proctor said the high statistics may be partly due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to Kingdom FM News she said: "Working within Fife Gingerbread, [the report] is not a huge surprise but I still think anytime you read that figure, it is shocking.

"Fife is a region with so many different communities that experience different things. The affluent areas are very affluent and the poorer areas with restricted income and restricted employment can be very deprived. In these very deprived areas, once there is a national recession, they'll always get hit the worst. 

"We need to see poverty as a matter for society and the community in all areas. It's a community experience and there should be no blame attributed to it. What we can do is make sure there are services available for people to take away that element of fear of coming forward and needing help.

"I think the pandemic has proven to us that poverty and financial insecurity can happen to anyone."

During the pandemic, Fife Gingerbread is offering meal pick-ups in Glenrothes, putting on coffee evenings, providing one-to-one support and helping people to access the right resources. Anybody looking for support can call the hotline on 01592 725210.