[UK] Charity targets poverty

From The Scotsman

A charity aimed at helping poverty-stricken Scots living in London has been launched.

Actress Blythe Duff, of Scots police drama Taggart, and former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith opened the ScotsCare charity at the organisation'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 and 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 specially trained volunteers to the lonely or elderly. It also aims to give grants to students unable to study without financial aid.

Speaking before the launch, Ms Duff said: "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."

Mr Duncan Smith, who was born in Edinburgh, said: "As a Scot in London, 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 but the charity does not discriminate on grounds of race, religion, sexual orientation or personal background.

ScotsCare is a trademark of the Royal Scottish Corporation, a charity which has helped more than a million people.

It traces its origins to the Union of the Crowns in 1603 when King James VI of Scotland moved to London to become King James I.