THOUSANDS of struggling Glasgow families trapped in poverty are just one unexpected bill away from being plunged into crisis, according to new research.

Analysis of emergency grant applications received by Aberlour, a leading children’s charity, has revealed the shocking number of families in the city that are living perilously close to the brink.

The organisation approved 698 applications for urgent cash assistance and issued £126,000 in grants to 2,334 people - including 1,365 with children - last year.

Many applications have highlighted how a single unexpected event can propel families into crisis.

Those surviving on the breadline were pushed to the edge by things like the sudden need to repair a broken washing machine or replace bedding ruined by damp.

(Image: supplied) The average grant from the charity’s urgent assistance fund is £306 and delivered within days of applications being made and approved.

SallyAnn Kelly, chief executive of Aberlour, said: “These are relatively small sums of money, a few hundred pounds, but they often mean that families have enough to eat, heat their home or even keep a roof above their head.

“Many Glasgow families are surviving on the very edge, on the brink of a crisis, and are almost living from one meal to the next.

“It is stressful, uncertain and ultimately unsustainable. Sooner rather than later, things are stretched so tight that they snap. It only requires one unexpected event, something breaking down or an unexpected bill, to push families living in poverty into real crisis.

“The kind of advice and support our frontline teams provide is crucial but, right at that point, those families need money and they need it as a matter of absolute urgency.”

READ MORE: Data reveals 24 staff assaulted every day in Glasgow’s schools.

The report has been released as Aberlour launches its poverty relief fundraising campaign, with every pound donated being paid out to families in the most extreme hardship.

The assistance fund has given more than £3.3m directly to families across Scotland in just four years to help buy food, heating and clothing. Two out of five applicants asked for money to feed themselves while half needed clothing and one in four required help to pay for heating or bedding.

Aberlour believes the number of young lives blighted by poverty now demands the same response that delivered urgent financial support for families as when Britain went into lockdown.

SallyAnn added: “No one could ever underestimate the suffering and loss inflicted by Covid but the lives and life chances of thousands of children are being as badly impacted by poverty as the pandemic.

“We need the same ambition, determination and urgency around poverty as we had during lockdown in terms of supporting families and protecting the lives of children.

“The swift and effective action taken then is needed now and our governments need to step up.”

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