VOLUNTEERS FROM the Fife Gingerbread Buddy Project have launched the key findings from their research project, Surviving Poverty The Impact of Lone Parenthood.
The national launch, taking place at the City Halls in Glasgow, saw the key findings presented to a wide range of attendees, such as MSPs, national and local policy makers, community planning partnerships, early years practitioners, academics and researchers.
A Fife Gingerbread spokesperson said the findings come at a time when lone parents are facing a particularly stressful and uncertain future with potential loss of income from the welfare reform.
It is hoped that the research, which sought to explore and understand lone parents’ quality of life within rural communities of Fife, will help communities and groups affected by poverty and welfare reform to communicate the impact of these at a policy level.
The 12 buddy volunteers who have been working on the EPiC research project, in partnership with the Poverty Alliance, each dedicated more than 170 hours of their time to training and developing the research programme.
Their hard work was recently given major recognition, as the volunteers were awarded the Social Inclusion Organisation Award, as presented by Fife Voluntary Action.
The accolade is given to an organisation working to break down social barriers and maximise the opportunities open to all members of society.
Fife Gingerbread support worker Michelle Campbell said: “Winning the award was a fantastic achievement for everyone involved.
“The volunteers worked incredibly hard on the research project, and the recognition was well deserved.”
The findings of their research will also be presented at the Poverty Alliance conference in March to over 300 people, including local and national politicians, as well as the research being published nationally.