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The Easterhouse community is made up of a diverse and vibrant population who wish to see more opportunity and resources in their community, and an end to the image of Easterhouse as a blighted or deprived area, and positive regeneration of Easterhouse socially and economically. |
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Support for Easterhouse Phoenix Project
Actor Joe McGann spoke to The Hour last year about his involvement in the Phoenix project, which aims to rejuvenate and rebuild Glasgow’s run-down Easterhouse area and give the place a much-needed boost.
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“Initially most of the help we got was from out with Scotland from people such as Karin, Joe McGann and David Sye. The good thing about it is that locally, I am now getting support.”
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Flautist Karin is fully behind the Phoenix project and she thinks that Richard has done a great thing for the Easterhouse community. She said: “What Richard is doing is just so inspiring and I felt like I wanted to be part of it. It’s amazing that one person can make such a difference. With my music, it doesn’t matter if I play for 50 or I play for five thousand, as long as I feel I can reach someone and I can make a difference. The people are what matter to me really”
The Phoenix project puts on regular tea dances for the pensioners of Easterhouse and has asked the council for a piece of land so that trees can be planted. Scottish Squash want to install a racketball court in the area, and one of Richard’s main priorities is to re-open the local library to try and bring people together:
“I’m overwhelmed by the support and it’s amazing to see,” he said. “Local people are giving support now and we’ve all come together from all walks of life to progress a society.”
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Group Gets Booked Into Old Library
A community group in Glasgow’s East End has finally been given the go-ahead to turn a disused library into its headquarters.
Easterhouse Phoenix Development hopes to move into the library within months. The Evening Times last year revealed that the charity had been asking for access to the abandoned Easterhouse Library but this had been refused.
But this month the council’s arm’s-length building company, City Building, decided to give them the lease of the library, which will be shared with the Scottish Squash and Racketball Club.
Richard McShane, managing director of Phoenix, said: “We exist to help disadvantaged people in Easterhouse by giving them a chance to go somewhere they can take part in something, show them there are opportunities out there and put them on the right road to achieving those opportunities.
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“This will be our base so the community can come together. “We would like to say thanks to the Evening Times for supporting us in our efforts to use the library.”
Drama workshops, held by actor Joe McGann who was impressed by the work Phoenix was doing, will be held in the centre and there will be a pensioners’ club as well as music lessons. With little funding and no base, the group has worked tirelessly to help out people of all ages. People on community service orders will be drafted in to help renovate the building and Richard said of that decision: “It means offenders are putting something back into the community.”
Several years from now the library will be demolished along with Easterhouse shopping centre.
Until then Phoenix will be bid to raise enough cash to build a centre on the site where Frankie Vaughn made his famous plea for gangs to end violence.
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Phoenix United
The club was literally formed by picking boys up of the street. After Richard had a conversation with a couple of boys who told him that there were no football clubs in Easterhouse (unlike in Richard’s day when there 100+), Richard asked the boys to give him 16 names and he would see what he could do. The following day Richard was presented with 20 boy’s names and Phoenix United was born.
24 youths under the age of seventeen were involved in training and football matches in the 2009 – 2010 season. Many young people in the community across all ages have asked to be involved with Phoenix, due to lack of resources at present this is not possible. The aim is to develop the club as a facility for all ages. Currently Phoenix has an under 19’s team which is registered to play in the
2010 – 2011 GADYFL.
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Bartara (Blairtummock and Rogerfield Tenants and Residents Association)
Bartara was set up to bring local people together to deal with local issues. Bartara gives people a platform to share their experiences living in the areas of Blairtummock and Rogerfield and the power to determine their own future, facing the everyday reality of life in Easterhouse and the challenges that this entails.
Bartara aims to work with all local service providers, resolving difficulties and highlighting concerns. Bartara holds monthly meetings to which all local residents, tenants, councillors and service providers are invited.
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Phoenix Pensioner’s Club
The club was set up in January 2008 to meet the needs of the pensioner’s. At that time there was little provision in the local area for this age group.
Within a few short weeks of setting up 72 people had applied for membership. The club currently meets in the local housing association community hall which has a capacity of 60. A waiting list had to be adopted due to the capacity of the hall and health and safety issues. Currently the club meets once a week which could be expanded if the resources and a larger facility were available to meet the needs of the pensioners.
The pensioners participate in a variety of activities including singing, dancing, quizzes,bingo and day trips. The pensioners club performs an essential role within the local community.
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Yoga
Phoenix has been working with David Sye of Yogabeats™ to develop yoga in Easterhouse with some success.
The boys from the football team currently take part in Hot Yoga sessions once a week under the instruction of Lisa Miller.
This has helped to develop the boy’s fitness and state of mind. Yoga classes for the pensioner’s, mothers and children are currently taking place.
Meetings with David Sye are taking place to develop Yogabeats™ throughout Easterhouse.
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Next steps
Phoenix has received many enquiries concerning setting up a wide range of activities within the community but at this time this is impossible due to lack of facilities and resources.
The aim of Phoenix is to consolidate the work done so far and to find a base to house all its current activities and develop others as required.
We have successfully negotiated with the property department of Glasgow City Council to procure the old Shandwick Library which had been lying vacant.
Having acquired the building our next goal is to raise the necessary funds to turn it into the Phoenix Community and Opportunity Centre. We are applying to local and national funders for help and need to raise at least £60,000. Any help we can get to achieve this goal will be gratefully accepted.
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