Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Drop in for a cup of tea and advice
A “LIVING room” where free advice, a listening ear and referrals are available to people with health issues has opened in the Wellgate Centre.
The joint venture by Work Place Chaplaincy Scotland, the Lifegate Church in Whitfield and CanDu – Dundee’s Cancer Support Network – has only been open for three days, but has already seen numerous visitors pass through its doors, at the shopping centre’s rear entrance.
“It’s basically a drop-in; people can come in, have a chat, if they’re lonely, have some worries they need to talk to someone about,” said Debbie Findlay, one of the organisers.
“If someone is really suffering, we would signpost them on to someone who could give them proper, professional help.
“We’ve set it up so it’s pretty much like a living room, to put people at ease, and it’s really just looking cosy and very nice. They get a cup of tea and a biscuit, and it’s all socially distanced, all following government guidelines.”
Debbie said the drop-in opened on Tuesday, and by Thursday it had seen more than 20 people come to speak to the volunteers – with six there when the Evening Telegraph got in touch.
“We really have been very busy,” said Debbie, whose husband Geoff is Dundee’s work place chaplain.
She said the idea behind the drop-in was to offer a way people with loneliness, depression, or other issues relating to health and wellbeing could get the necessary help.
“We’re basically a listening service for people who need a blether,” she said. “We think the elderly are feeling quite isolated so they’re able to come along and have a chat, and get out of their own four walls.
“It’s been amazing, all the sofas and coffee tables have been donated from the British Heart Foundation shop in the Wellgate, and the Wellgate Centre itself is letting us use the unit rent-free, which is just the most incredibly generous thing.”
Interested passers-by were coming in, and once they found out what was going on were staying for a cup of tea and a chat, she said.
While coronavirus was the main reason for setting up the service, Debbie said she thought it would remain “for as long as it’s needed”.
The drop-in is in the first unit on the right as you enter the Wellgate Centre from the Victoria Road entrance, across from the Xercise4Less gym, and opens from 10am-2.30pm, Monday to Friday.