Glasgow charity which champions older people turns 75

Monday is quiz day (note: there will be rice krispy cakes); Tuesday brings darts and bowls. Nail-painting is promised for Wednesday; while Thursday and Friday include sing-songs and ‘a trip down memory lane’.

“There is always something going on,” agrees centre manager Keith Mitchell, with a laugh. “There’s had to be a bit of rebuilding since the pandemic, but we’re getting there. There’s a great team here – and you can have a bit of a carry-on.”

Staff and residents celebrate GGG's 75th anniversary (Image: Gordon Terris/Newsquest)

The 56-year-old, who stays in Partick and has worked for the charity for 25 years, grins: “It doesn’t feel like work.”

He adds: “I broke my leg and was confined to my house for weeks, depending on others to do everything for me. That’s what life is like for many older people and they cannot see a way out of it. So coming down to the centre is a massive thing.”

Keith Mitchell (Image: Gordon Terris/Newsquest)

He pauses. “There’s a lot to be said for feeling like you make a difference to people’s lives.”

Karen, Keith and Lynn (Image: Gordon Terris/Newsquest)

The centre is one of two – the other is the Southside’s David Cargill Centre - run by Glasgow’s Golden Generation, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

Established in 1948 as Glasgow Old People’s Welfare Association (GOPWA), it recognised a need to tackle loneliness in the city’s older population. For 38 years, it was run by legendary activist Sheena Glass, who died in 2019.

It now supports around 2500 people each year through befriending, digital and welfare services and weekly clubs, and employs 36 staff. Tackling loneliness, especially in the wake of the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis, remains at the heart of its work.

Welfare officer Lynn Campbell joined the team 23 years ago, and recalls being “taken under the wing” of her predecessor Margo Anderson.

Lynn Campbell, welfare officer (Image: Gordon Terris/Newsquest)

“She was amazing, like Miss Marple,” smiles Lynn. “I remember one day, I shed a few sad tears. It could be hard sometimes.

“She took me aside and said, ‘tears are no good here.’ She said, ‘flip that around, put pen to paper and your mind to work and ask – what can I do to help this person?’”

Lynn smiles: “That’s stuck with me forever. Whatever the situation, you’re there to find something to help that person.”

As part of a small team, Lynn advises older people about benefits such as attendance allowance and pension credits.

“My mum died young, just 46, and in my time here, I have met more than 100 women who could have been her,” she says. “She was independent, the wife of a merchant seaman, part of that generation who didn’t want anything handed to them.

“They don’t want hand-outs, as they see it, and I spend a lot of time explaining benefits to them, helping them understand this is something that can help them.”

The charity is marking its 75th anniversary (Image: Gordon Terris/Newsquest)

Lynn, from Cardonald, adds: “We get a lot of referrals from other organisations now – they are all very aware of us, we have been here so long. Even housing associations have welfare officers now, they understand that kind of help and support is needed.”

It is still hard, admits Lynn, to hear stories of pensioners in Glasgow choosing between eating, or heating their home.

“People who live frugally anyway, are having to make those decisions,” she says, angrily. “So yes, the work we do enables people to have a better quality of life. It’s important.”

Lynn, 58, who is gran to Bonnie, four, and two-year-old Ollie, smiles: “I love helping older people, they are our most treasured possession. I love my job.”

Karen Moyes started working for GGG 26 years ago, after being made redundant from her job at Kay’s Catalogue on Queen Street.

Karen Moyes, befriending, clubs and volunteer manager (Image: Gordon Terris/Newsquest)

“I came in as an office junior, when we were based in the old building on Sandyford Place,” she recalls. “It was a lovely old Victorian building, but it was freezing in the winter – I used to sit with my coat on.

“There was a constant flow of people through our office, it was a lovely atmosphere. For many years it was run by Sheena Glass, an amazing woman.”

Karen has been befriending, clubs and volunteer engagement manager since 2018.

“There is a real need for befriending, even more so since Covid,” she says.

“And our clubs are fantastic – the conveners work so hard. We’ve just started a belly-dancing club, and a weekly blether, which is fantastic – a bunch of women putting the world to rights….”

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Karen, who has two daughters, Ashleigh and Kerry, pauses.

“I never ever imagined I would do this job for so long, but older people just draw you in,” she says, smiling. “You develop a special kind of loyalty.”