As Christmas beckons, the majority of people in Aberdeen and across the north of Scotland will be excited about the festive season.
But there are plenty of others who will be struggling to make ends meet or even manage to get a roof over their heads in often sub-zero temperatures.
And Sandy Murray, the founder of Aberdeen Cyrenians, knows more than most about the problems faced by those who exist on the outside of society and are too often ignored as being somebody else’s problem.
The north-east man, a stalwart figure in the charity sector, has been dedicated to helping people since he was a youngster in the 1960s.
It all began with a soup kitchen
At Aberdeen University, he heard about a radical priest called Father Anthony Ross, who had been very active in Edinburgh about addressing the issue of homelessness.
So he invited Fr Anthony to the Granite City to talk about his work, was inspired by what he heard, and subsequently spent the whole of his summer break getting involved in the services in the Scottish capital – while working part-time at fashion store C & A.
On returning north, he talked with kindred spirits and they decided to start a soup kitchen, and although they had no cash, they found a butcher and baker who were willing to give them supplies of meat and bread.
Finding a place to sleep
They were determined to help people sleeping rough, but had to find them and explain what they were doing – and, with the help of local police officers and others, Sandy and his colleagues began providing food to them.
He recalls: “Word spread and others got to know about us. We went from working one night to several and then seven days a week. We were joined by other university groups and volunteers from other places. Then the challenge was providing a place to sleep and we depended on a remarkable group of students to deliver the service.”
Nothing was easy, but Wernham House was established in Aberdeen’s Virginia Street in 1986 and during its 37 years in operation, it has supported hundreds – if not thousands – of people, some of whose circumstances were greatly improved through their input.
Sandy was at the forefront of the initiative at the Cyrenians and developed their range of services, but he has never forgotten the impressive woman whose can-do attitude provided inspiration to those who have done such sterling work for so many decades.
‘A memorable occasion’
He recalled: “In my first year as superintendent of the Lodging House, Hilda Wernham, a formidable lady [who was brought up in Deeside, trained as a nurse, and was one of the first on the scene when the university’s Zoology Building collapsed in 1966] managed to get donations of turkeys.
“In addition to the people living in the lodging house, we were able to include the men and women from the night shelter.
“It was a memorable occasion with John Lennon’s Happy Christmas (War is Over) on repeat. But one of the longest residents was crying. I asked what the problem was.
“But it was not a problem – he said that he was overcome with emotion because it had been so long since he had anything to celebrate.”
That story speaks volumes about the importance of this marvellous organisation. And that’s equally true at Christmas and during the rest of the year.
Further information about Aberdeen Cyrenians is available at weareac.org/
