A “lifeline” community hub that helps feed and support local people in Edinburgh warns a significant loss in government funding could hit vulnerable residents hardest.
Space at the Broomhouse Hub, in the west of the Capital, has worked within the community in the west of Edinburgh for more than 30 years.
But as the cost of living continues to rise, news that a £350,000 Scottish Government grant will not be renewed has hit the organisation hard.
A large part of life at the hub revolves around food. While there are numerous clubs and support groups on offer, it is often the café that first brings local people through the doors.
Helena, who has mobility issues, has been coming to the hub for more than two years.
She said: “It’s my means of getting out the house. Coming down here, you’re meeting everybody, having a blether and getting a bit of exercise. It’s a very sociable, happy place to be,” she said.
“The staff are excellent too. They make our coffee and bring it over. They work hard.”
STV NewsLiz visits the hub several times a week.
“They’ll say, ‘You want your cup of tea?’ and get it ready. I come up here Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. We do our ‘keep fit’ on a Wednesday and we have a dinner. We do yoga on a Thursday too.
“We miss it when it’s not on.”
Frances has been coming to the hub since 2011, following the death of her husband. She attends four days a week.
“I’m going blind in one eye, so the craft class is perfect for me. You don’t have to be great at doing it – a lot of them are,” she said.
“It’s a brilliant place. ‘B Healthy Together’ has made me a different person. If it wasn’t to be that, I don’t know what I’d do.”
Andrew, a stroke survivor, says the hub has become central to his daily life.
“There’s reasonably priced meals, social interaction and various activities. I’m on my own now – I make a point of going in most days,” he said.
“It makes people’s days brighter. it’s good to share fun and banter. People are so isolated in the community – to have a community place where people can come to is amazing. It’s vital.
“A lot of people in this area don’t have family nearby – so this is their family here.”
Neil Hearn, chief executive of Broomhouse Hub, says the organisation supports around 2,700 people from early years through to older age.
“We start with toddlers – parents and carers – and at the other end of the age group we deliver a dementia day care service. In between, we work broadly across youth clubs, kids struggling in school, and adult employability programmes.
He added: “We’re a lifeline for a lot of the community. This space lets us hear what people need and want, what the challenges are, and how they can help shape the solutions. We work with people to improve their lives in the manner they want.
“Not many organisations do what we do. That drop in funding is going to heavily impact our engagement with people.”
Jen Richards, CEO of partner charity B Healthy Together, says the funding loss will directly affect people’s health and wellbeing.
“The reduction in funding would mean we couldn’t run community meals at full capacity. We’d have to reduce the number of meals and ‘Create and Connect’ classes,” she said.
“We already have waiting lists. For places where people can come that are low or no cost, there really isn’t anywhere else. We work in partnership with other charities – people build trust, relationships, and end up involved in three or four activities.”
“There will definitely be an impact on people’s health and wellbeing.”
Many activities at the hub focus on improving both physical and mental health, and the change in funding will also affect partner organisations operating from the building.
The Broomhouse Hub is just one organisation affected by a total of £3m in cuts to the third sector in Edinburgh, and £15m across Scotland.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Following the publication of the draft Budget, work is progressing to set out what this means for individual programmes such as the Investing in Communities Fund. Officials will be contacting stakeholders as soon as it is possible to update them on the outcome of the Budget for their specific programme interests.”
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