MERRY CHRISTMAS!
So I haven’t lost the plot with the timing of my Christmas message (read on, all will become clear!), but it’s reached that time of year where I walk into the supermarket and get a cold shiver when I see the first of the Christmas goodies on sale. I’m not a total grinch, but for me, it definitely takes me a wee moment more than most to warm up to the reality that Christmas is around the corner.
Christmas means different things to each of us. For most, it’s a time to be with the people we love, whether that’s your family or the family that you choose. We show our love and appreciation with gifts and indulge (and sometimes over-indulge) in all the good things that the season has to offer.
For the service users of Aberdeen Cyrenians, Christmas can be very different. It can be a challenging time when they think about fractured family relationships and turn to substances or their addiction to cope. It can be a time of increased anxiety where they have to spend more time at home with their abuser, often feeling they are walking on eggshells. It can be a time where they become overwhelmed with feelings of hopelessness and loneliness.
One of the things I love most about Aberdeen Cyrenians is that the organisation responds to that, recognising that crisis isn’t 9 to 5 and that in fact, the pressure can build in the run up to occasions such as Christmas. Nearly all of our services now operate with cover in place at times like Christmas, including our Direct Access Service, which will be open on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Lord Provost Barney Crockett presented our staff and volunteers with the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service at our donation warehouse.
Our volunteers are essential to making that happen and we were honoured this year to receive the Queens Award for Voluntary Service, which is the equivalent of an MBE for third sector organisations, with a special recognition award for our work during COVID-19. So on behalf of the staff team, an extra special thankyou to our wonderful volunteers for all the work that they do supporting our organisation all year.
Thanks has to go also to the donors and supporters who support our work all year round, the individuals, community groups, corporate/workplace fundraisers and grants, trusts and foundations who make our work possible. It’s as a direct result of what you do for us that we can help people who are threatened with homelessness, support those being abused to flee and help vulnerable people to access safe accommodation and sustain their tenancies. So thankyou. Everything that you do is appreciated and makes a difference.
A Merry Christmas from all of our Direct Access team!
December is our busiest time at Aberdeen Cyrenians (hence the early Christmas Greeting! I’ll be otherwise occupied helping our projects and service teams come December) and it normally passes in a whirlwind of activity, so my last thankyou has to go to our fabulous staff team, some of whom give up time with their families over the festive period to support our service users when they need it most. You really are amazing.
2021 has been an extremely challenging year for us as an organisation and so I take the opportunity to wish our service users, staff team, volunteers, supporters and everyone reading this message a safe, peaceful Christmas, whatever you’re doing, and a very happy and prosperous 2022 when it comes.
I am proud to lead an organisation that is focused on adapting and evolving to meet the changing needs of the people who need our support in Aberdeen and the surrounding areas, and look forward to next year and being able to continue our efforts to support those who need our help.
With my very best wishes,
Chris Bennett-Taylor
Chief Executive