Health and Wellbeing minister Alex Neil was in Dundee to help one Tayside charity celebrate more than 40 years of success.
Mr Neil praised the continuing work of Tayside Council on Alcohol, which has secured more than £1.3 million for new projects across the region this year.
The new funding will finance a range of different schemes including the Kith and Kin carers project in Perth and Kinross, the “Witches” young women’s project and the Children Affected by Parental Substance Misuse scheme.
Mr Neil said: “Tayside Council on Alcohol’s ongoing work to deliver mentoring support has put them at the forefront of their field.
“Alcohol misuse can have a hugely damaging effect on individuals, families and local communities, and successful partnerships such as this between TCA and local organisations play a vital role in making sure that everyone has the support they need.”
The charity supports people who are experiencing alcohol misuse or those who are being affected by another’s alcohol misuse. It has projects for adults, young people, children, carers and families.
It delivers a core adult counselling service and provides an adult mentoring service through criminal justice services.
As well as money from the Scottish Government, the funding came from groups including Lloyds TSB Charitable Trust, Robertson Trust, Comic Relief and the Big Lottery.
Dr Peter Rice, who is chairman of the TCA Board, said: “This has been another successful year for TCA, which means we have been directly supporting over 700 individuals across Tayside in a sympathetic and professional manner.
“This is down in no small measure to the work of all our volunteers and staff. As a board, we are quite rightly very proud of all the individuals who give up their own time to help others and this is what TCA is all about.”
He said the more services the charity has set up, the more people have come to use them.
TCA director Eric Knox added: “We are in a position where we can help people of all ages, families and individuals thanks to the continuing support we get from all our funders.
“As a result, we have been able to attract more than £1.3 million of new funding along with our partners for innovative projects across Tayside. This means TCA is going from strength to strength and is in a better position than it ever has been to support people who need help and support for their own or someone else’s alcohol issues.”