Plans for addiction support centre in Falkirk spark threats and abuse

Sylvia Kay received “some threats” through phone calls and letters from some people who objected strongly to the plans, believing the facility would actually be a place where drugs would be taken.

“I got letters including one saying I should have died when I had cancer and that I should go back to my caravan,” she said.

Now Sylvia, who is the driving force behind the project, says she wants people to understand what will actually be happening in a new well-being centre in Hallglen.

Formal objectors said they feared that it would lead to litter, noise and anti-social behaviour for neighbours. But while there were 27 objections to the new facility, in a former Hallglen shop, there were the same number of supporters who said the facility is desperately needed.

The plans have now been approved by Falkirk Council, and the site will bring together existing mental health services that people can access quickly and easily. And Sylvia wants to reassure people that the new premises, which will be in 26 Nairn Court, will not involve any drug-taking or needle exchanges.

“Some people got the wrong idea – but this is about offering support to people, it is absolutely not a drug consumption room,” she said. “It’s going to be a wellbeing centre offering somewhere for a whole range of support groups, including addiction support.”

She stresses that the plan is to offer a wide range of services through existing organisations, including support for new parents and young people, people with cancer and veterans. “Eventually, we hope it will have something there for everybody,” she said.

The plans for the centre have the support of the NHS, Police and the local Alcohol and Drugs Partnership as well as local councillors, who believe it help local people who currently struggle to access services.

The Falkirk Council-owned premises are currently ‘an empty shell’ but they have now been granted planning permission for a change of use from a shop to a Community Day Centre offering mental health, parental and addiction support.

The new centre will be managed by the committee who currently run the Ettrick Dochart Community Hall in Hallglen which is one of the busiest community centres in Falkirk, offering groups for all ages, from toddlers to pensioners, as well as a food pantry.

For Sylvia, it’s a project she has spoken about and planned for more than two years as she has seen first-hand the desperate need for local services. Their first priority was to find somewhere local that people could access easily, without the need to wait for unreliable, expensive buses.

While the committee first looked at using the centre itself, they quickly realised the busy hall would not be for suitable for people looking for privacy and quiet support.

The centre does have a special room for counselling through The Scott Martin Foundation, a mental health charity set up in memory of a 16-year-old who tragically took his own life. They hope that the new services will play a part in tackling the very worrying numbers of young men in particular who feel suicidal and have nowhere to turn.

The charity has given its support to the new venture, as have local councillors Euan Stainbank and Lorna Binnie. Both councillors see the work that goes on behind the scenes at the centre to create a place for people in the community can find company and support.

Cllr Stainbank says he hopes that the new facility will be a place that people can use without facing stigma too often associated with mental health problems.

“There are many professional organisations that want to help and do a fantastic job and this will just be something that allows them to facilitate that in the local community, right on their doorstep” he said.

Cllr Binnie has seen how the local volunteers and the dedicated committee have gone “from strength to strength” over the years and has no hesitation in supporting the new initiative, which she believes will “make more for an inclusive community providing health support for who needs this the most”.

The committee did listen to concerns and changed the opening times to 10am. Children’s services will now run at separate times to adults to alleviate concerns. They are confident they will get funding to start the project and that it will go on to make a difference to many people’s lives.