Nationwide Building Society in Aberdeen have partnered with Cyrenians as part of our Community Grants Programme, as we believe everyone deserves a place fit to call home.

Nationwide Building Society in Aberdeen have partnered with Cyrenians as part of our Community Grants Programme, as we believe everyone deserves a place fit to call home.

Scotland’s local Community Board, made up of local members and Nationwide colleagues, voted for Cyrenians to be awarded £50,000 to support the LGBTQ+ community in Aberdeen.

1 in 10 LGBTQ+ people have been discriminated against when looking for a home, rising to 1 in 4 trans people. LGBTQ+ people make up 24% of the homeless population in the UK. Almost one in five (19%) of all trans people in Scotland have been homeless at some point in their lives. Homelessness in this community can lead to mental health issues, alcohol abuse and even sexual exploitation.

The Community Grant will help recruit a specialist LGBTQ+ practitioner to join a new and original integrated service in Aberdeen. The Nationwide branch in Aberdeen has also been supporting service users to open accounts and gain access to banking services, in some cases to people who are vulnerable or fleeing domestic violence.

Gavin Maxwell, senior branch manager at Nationwide Building Society, commented “Ever since 2018, our Community Grants Programme offers financial support to those seeking to make a difference, those on the front lines of tackling housing issues that impact so many across the UK. Aberdeen Cyrenians is a charity close to the hearts to many of our members, and has been providing such a board range of care and support to vulnerable people in the North-east.

"When we have volunteered at their Aberdeen site we have always been blown away by their dedication, range of services and care. With many charities struggling for funding in these times, it was a proud day working for Nationwide hearing Cyrenians had been voted by our members to receive the £50,000 for their project.”

Michael Burns, chief executive officer at Aberdeen Cyrenians “Many thanks to Nationwide for their valuable support, the work of this team is critical to those fleeing violent & domestic situations, which we know the COVID restrictions will have made even more difficult for some”

For more information please visit www.nationwidecommunitygrants.co.uk.