The new project starting next month will see street-based volunteers teamed up with support staff to build trusted relationships and enable those with difficulty accessing support, to get the help they need.

Chris Bennett-Taylor, development lead at Aberdeen Cyrenians, said: “From its beginning as a soup kitchen in the Castlegate, Aberdeen Cyrenians quickly learnt that additional support is vital to helping people move on. For someone that is marginalized by society, that has difficulty maintaining conditions put upon them to receive help, it puts up barriers for those that need it most.

“This new project is an exciting new chapter for the organisation. Since our Street Alternatives project had to pause during the pandemic, we have worked hard to provide continued support, but nothing beats that face-to-face interaction with another human being. For decades, our volunteers have supported people at their lowest point, they have been there when someone needed them, and we’re delighted to be expanding that support still further.

“To ensure it’s success, we’re committing more resources to support volunteering, and creating a new service manager role that we’re currently recruiting for. It’ll be an exciting and varied role for the right passionate individual to take forward, and will give support, focus and direction to our current and new volunteers.”

The charity is a recipient of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2021 in recognition of the valuable work done by volunteers and staff alike in supporting vulnerable people affected by crisis, trauma, mental illness, addiction, abuse, poverty, and homelessness.

Currently operating with around 100 volunteers per year, they hope to expand this to 150 within the next year, building on the strong community response during the pandemic.

Chris Bennett-Taylor added: “The last year has been devastating for so many people and we’ve seen numbers needing our help soar. Sadly, as furlough comes to an end and evictions resume, we’re expecting even more help to be needed.

“We rely on volunteers to help meet that need, whether someone has a few hours to give weekly, monthly or annually; every bit makes a difference.”