‘ Lifeline’ community centre faces the axe
A“LIFELINE” city centre community facility is facing permanent closure after being axed from crucial funding. Garnethill Multicultural Centre has warned its doors may close for good after being knocked back from £ 141,000 worth of crucial cash which would have covered running costs for three years.
The centre is one of multiple groups across the city to have been rejected from the Glasgow Communities Fund – which was “heavily oversubscribed”.
A £ 4 million Transition Fund was introduced by the local authority in a bid to bridge the gap, but Garnethill Multicultural Centre say their application for this grant has been knocked back too.
The centre is the only of its kind within area and has been providing vital services to all walks of society for over 30 years.
Centre co- ordinator Ross Donald said: “We have been receiving the fund for 32 years, meaning we are one of the oldest projects on the council books.
“This has come as a bit of a shock to say the least.
“We’re facing a double whammy as we face the challenges from the pandemic too.
“We’re losing an income not only from the fund but we’re also losing income from the lack of activity in our building at the moment due to the pandemic.”
In normal circumstances, the centre will cater for 1000 service users every week.
It offers pensioners activities, advice surgeries, sports and recreation groups, English classes, alcohol anonymous programmes and many more activities for the diverse communities in the city centre.
Ross added: “These are the people that will lose these essential services that help them with their daily lives. Some of our services are lifesaving and to strip the city centre community of them is cruel as we are now threatened with closure.
“We’ve always made sure we have had services that reach all walks of society, so we cater for pensioners, children, parents, refugees, those who suffer from addictions and different ethnic communities.
“We’re the only city centre community centre and we offer a safe space and respite for people who live in the area and need our services.
“People really do rely on our centre for many different reasons. They feel comfortable coming to us and if we close, 1000 a week will lose this safe space.
“We were on the verge of just starting to open up again and now we face permanent closure. We will work our very hardest to identify alternative routes, but the threat that the doors might close here is a very strong threat that we face.”
A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: “Demand for grant support has been exceptional – with applications received for well over double the total value of the fund.
“Unfortunately, this was always going to mean disappointment for some organisations with applications that scored less highly during assessment.”
This has come as a bit of a shock