Bid to convert bus into 'pivotal' Glasgow support and care hub quashed

Glasgow’s No.1 Baby and Family Support Service (G1BFSS) was knocked back from almost £500,000 worth of crucial cash from both the Glasgow Communities Fund and Transition Fund – which was set up after a “heavy” subscription of the Communities Fund. 

The money, which would have been distributed to the charity over a three-year period, would have covered costs to establish a Support and Care Hub located in a revamped bus outside the charity’s premises in Germiston.

READ MORE: 'Every community in Glasgow could be harmed': Over 100 charities and groups could be rejected from lifeline funding

Hopes for the hub included providing long-term, one-to-one mental health support, addiction support, budgeting and money advice as well as offering help in partnering issues and coping strategies. 

After noticing an “exceptional demand” and need for additional support in the city, founder of G1BFSS, Audrey Dempsey, bids to bridge the gap by transforming their bus into a haven for those in need. 

She said: “At the moment, we support people with material goods – people who are in working poverty and in financial hardship. We give them the materials that they need to meet their basic daily needs. In return, they use their income for food, rent and other bills.

“The Support and Care Hub was going to target people who need immediate help and we’re noticing an exceptional demand for this.  

“The money we applied for was purely to set up our bus – it would have funded positions for the bus, covered the cost of materials, to pay sessional workers to come in and hold groups, the legal costs, insurance and accountant, it would have covered everything.

“We are going to try to soldier on and raise the funds for the bus ourselves. We see there is a pivotal need for help in the community but with lockdown restrictions, fundraising is extremely difficult.”

READ MORE: 'Lifeline' Garnethill Multicultural Centre faces permanent closure after axe of crucial funding

G1BFSS was formed three years ago and relies upon the kindness of the public for donations. Since then, it has helped 17,000 people in Glasgow by distributing £7 million worth of essential goods. The charity currently has 107 professional referring agencies that come to them for help – the biggest being the NHS.

Audrey said: “We’ve supported so many people and we just want to expand in what we can offer and how many people we can support. 

“We’re working with a huge range of people in need, with all different needs. We thought we were meeting all the requirements, but we have been refused and we don’t really know where to go from here. 

“We’re really up against it. We do have support from Mears, who are giving us free support with tradesmen and conversion because of the level of asylum and refugees that we’re supporting at the moment. 

“Our concern is, the numbers are rising all the time but we’re not getting any support from our council or government.”

READ MORE: Five Glasgow Citizens Advice Bureaux saved from closure

On average, G1BFSS will help 220 people every month. 

Audrey added: “We’re achieving results that the council aren’t even achieving. I think that has to be recognised and there has to be credit where it’s due. 

“They should see we are supporting the people of our city and they should support that. We’re helping people who are falling through the gaps and keeping them afloat. 

“In three years, we’ve handed out £2.7 million worth of essential goods at no cost to anybody. It makes us think, what exactly are we going to have to do here for recognition?”

A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: “Applications for grant support totalled well over double the total value of the fund and, unfortunately, this was always going to mean disappointment for some organisations with applications that scored less highly during assessment.”