Cash goes to those living in areas of deprivation and poverty

More than 17,000 tenants of Scotland’s largest social landlord received support through one of Scotland’s leading foundations.

Wheatley Foundation, part of Wheatley Group, invested £6.7 million in programmes to support tenants of Wheatley Homes Glasgow, Wheatley Homes East, Wheatley Homes South and Loretto as well as customers supported by Wheatley Care.

The foundation supports people living in some of Scotland’s most disadvantaged communities.

In the last year, the Foundation helped families with more than 9,100 food and fuel vouchers.

Nearly 8,000 tenants also received welfare benefits advice worth £13.7 million in previously unclaimed benefits.

The foundation assisted more than 2250 young families through partnerships, such as Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which provides free books to children under the age of five.

Chair of Wheatley Foundation, Professor Paddy Gray OBE, said: “The foundation is an invaluable lifeline for many of our tenants who are struggling through financial hardship.

“Over this last year alone, we’ve been able to help our tenants access expert financial advice, employment, training and learning opportunities.

“The £13.7m we helped tenants claim was a record amount for the foundation and will make a massive difference to families across our communities.”

Employment opportunities made available through the foundation’s Wheatley Works programme also provided 988 job training and apprenticeships.

The Home Comforts programme, which sees donated furniture upcycled and provided to tenants who need it free of charge, diverted more than 143 tonnes of household goods from landfill in the last year.