Families in Scotland are set to benefit from a £100,000 grant to charity Scottish Autism.
The organisation will use the funds to create an online coaching and counselling service.
It will aim to support autistic people and their families through Covid-19.
Scott Stewart, head of Barclays Scotland, and Charlene Tait, deputy chief executive of Scottish Autism. The photograph dates from January 2020, when the organisations announced a partnership to develop an inclusive environment for autistic employees at Barclays’ new site in Glasgow
The charity said its brief is to help them transition to a new normal when lockdown and social distancing measures eventually come to an end.
Scottish Autism sees huge rise in enquiries
Scottish Autism has reported a 101 per cent increase in enquiries to its Autism Advice Line since lockdown came into effect.
It also forecast a loss of half its annual income from the cancellation of fundraising and supporters’ events due to the pandemic.
The charity hopes to launch the new service by November.
The grant is from Barclays bank, via its £100 million Community Aid Package.
The fund aims to support charities that are helping people and communities most impacted by Covid-19.
So far, £10 million of this funding has been donated through the 100×100 UK Covid-19 Community Relief Programme.
100 charities, £100,000 each
Scottish Autism is among 100 UK charities that have each gained £100,000 to enable their work to continue.
This latest grant builds on Scottish Autism’s close relationship with Barclays. In January, the charity announced a two-year partnership to develop an inclusive environment for autistic employees at Barclays’ new site in Glasgow.
Charlene Tait is deputy chief executive of Scottish Autism. She said: “Since this crisis began, we have seen a spike in demand for our services as many autistic individuals and their families have struggled to cope with the significant changes to their lives brought on by lockdown and social distancing measures.
“We are now developing our new online coaching and counselling service, which will provide critical support for many autistic individuals and their families throughout Scotland.”
She added: “From the outset we will work with individuals and families to empower them to set their own goals and priorities to address some of the challenges that the pandemic has had upon their mental health and wellbeing, whilst supporting them with the transition back to school or work beyond Covid-19.”
‘Unprecedented impact’
Scott Stewart is head of Barclays Scotland. He said: “This crisis has had an unprecedented impact across Scotland and we know this is an incredibly challenging time for many communities.
He added: “We hope that the donations we are making to charities across Scotland, including Scottish Autism, will allow them to amplify their vital work and support more people as the crisis develops.”
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Published: 2 October 2020
