Whole range of support will be available
New community hubs are planned at football stadiums across Scotland to offer vital support in a safe and welcoming environment.
SPFL Trust Community Hubs will be located at 10 football stadiums across the country.
They will provide a safe space for people to seek help, find hope and connect with essential support services.
Inspired by the successful model of the Aberdeen Community Hub, which launched with the support of the SPFL Trust’s Winter Support Fund in 2022, the new hubs aim to replicate this impactful work across Scotland.
Running in two phases, phase one will begin in March with hubs opening at Aberdeen, Motherwell, Kilmarnock, Hearts, and Falkirk. Phase two will kick off in October, at Montrose, Morton, Queen of the South, Raith Rovers and Alloa.
The SPFL Trust is working closely with each participating community trust to create spaces that reflect the unique needs of their communities.
The hubs will offer more than just a welcoming environment. Each hub will provide hot food and a relaxed atmosphere, where people can access expert advice and support from a range of partner organisations.
These partners will deliver targeted assistance to help with a variety of challenges, from housing and finances - including energy costs - to mental health, physical health, benefits, and overall wellbeing.
SPFL Trust CEO Nicky Reid said: “The launch of our new community hubs is gamechanging. Things aren’t getting any easier for people in communities across Scotland.
“We’re coming to the end of our current strategic period, during which we committed to a period of learning around how we can best support communities who are experiencing poverty.
“Through our network, we’ve established that community trusts can provide a one-stop-shop, a place to go for support. We believe it works because football stadiums just don’t feel like imposing places where perhaps you feel a bit judged. We’re saying, come in, have a cuppa, chat if you like, and staff will guide and support you if that’s what you need.
“If we can get people through the door and make sure that the right people with the right information are there to greet them in a way that is approachable and friendly, then we have the opportunity to make a genuine difference.”
One strand of support on offer is around energy, through the SPFL Trust’s partner SGN. Their specific focus on energy support and advice is vital, as many families face stress due to rising costs.
In 2023, 34% of all households in Scotland were estimated to be in fuel poverty, of which 19.4% were in extreme fuel poverty.
Margaret Hamilton, Community Partnership Manager at SGN, said: “The reason we partner with organisations like the SPFL Trust is that they’re already supporting communities we won’t necessarily have access to.”
“We have an ambition to support over 100,000 households per year, and we can’t do that alone. We want to support community trusts to have conversations around energy safeguarding including the Priority Service Register and Carbon Monoxide awareness to help people use energy safely, efficiently, and affordably. We will provide the resources, tools, and techniques to enable them to do that.”
“As part of our partnership, we want to learn from each community trust and take that knowledge forward when supporting even more customers in the future.”
