The Queens Cross Community Chest is offering grants of up to £150 to those aged under 25

A new fund has been launched to help youngsters out of poverty.

Set up by Queens Cross Housing Association and Queens Cross Workspace, the Queens Cross Community Chest fund will operate in the north west of Glasgow.

It will be run by the Garscube Community Foundation and allow young people and their families to access grants of up to £150.

The grant – from a £10,000 fund - can be used to improve the quality of life for a young person or to help create better life opportunities. This might include equipment for an event or activity, club fees, education or skills development, clothes for a job interview or sport.

The community chest was set up in response to findings in the association’s latest tenants’ survey that showed poverty was still a real issue for many families living in the Queens Cross area.

“The exact level of how much some of our families are struggling has been confirmed to us by our Getting to Know You 2 survey,” said Queens Cross chief executive, Shona Stephen.

“These survey figures reinforce what we see and deal with on the ground every day; the unacceptable impact that poverty has on people’s lives here. How it holds people back and consigns them to a life of uncertainty and stigma.

“A child born into poverty is much more likely to remain in poverty and their children too. This is a cycle of deprivation and limited life chances that we as a housing association are determined to help break.”

The fund is open to those from the local area who are aged between 16 and 25.