Disability centre’s resources hit by vile firebugs
young stroke group out of the Disability Resource Centre, now first thoughts, I was thinking ‘No, I’m too young, I’m not interested in this, this isn’t my thing’ but really it was a lifeline for me, it actually put me in a position where I was helping people again.
“Before I knew it I was filling in people’s driving licence letters to get their licence back and my dad was filling in their DLA forms.”
The SNP Councillor for Paisley North East and Ralston added: “But not only that, it was through their partnership working with Headways and things like that that got me into the gym because my physio, I had been kind of written off as plateaued and there was no more betterment there for me physically really, I could just try and exercise at home, it was the Disability Resource Centre that took me along to the Lagoon every Tuesday and Thursday and gave me the confidence to go there independently, so if it hadn’t been for the Disability Resource Centre.
“I do feel very passionate about it.”
Ms O’Byrne said moves are under way to try and relocate services.
She added: “Unfortunately the details of what happened are still under investigation but what we do know is that police and fire and rescue were alerted at 7 o’clock to a fire in the building itself.
“I think a number of the local residents had noted that there had been activity on the roof of the building, there’s scaffolding around the building at the moment because the roof was being repaired.
“So, I think at the moment, the initial findings from the fire and police are there’s been quite extensive damage to the building.”
She said that staff had been in attendance from 7am on Friday morning, battling to get word to service users and carers in time.
Staff at the Health and Social Care Partnership hope to find alternative accommodation to allow service users to attend and are in talks with Renfrewshire Leisure over temporary use of Paisley’s Lagoon Leisure Centre, as well as reviewing other buildings.
Ms O’Byrne continued: “There is such love from people who have attended the day centre, people love it, they absolutely love it, so this will be really, really difficult news for lots of people.
“As much as we can push things forward we will absolutely push things forward.”
A spokesperson for Scottish Fire and Rescue said: “We received a call at 7.29pm with reports of a building on fire in Love Street, Paisley.
“We mobilised six appliances to attend the scene and put the fire out.
“We left the incident in the hands of Police Scotland.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “The fire is being treated as deliberate and enquiries are ongoing.
“Anyone with information can call 101, quoting 3155 of November 18.”