A charity will open its new hub this weekend after temporarily closing when the Aberdeen Market Village shut.
Four Pillars, which is an LGBT+ health trust, previously confirmed it secured a new location due to the operators of the market going into administration in June.
The charity has now announced it will be opening up its doors at 33 Regent Quay on Saturday.
The new hub will provide a safe space for the community and boasts a store selling pride merchandise and exclusive products.
Four Pillars’ community relations manager, Deejay Bullock, said: “The first LGBT+ in the north-east of Scotland was opened on May 1 2019 inside Aberdeen Market.
“We were based there until May 2020 when it shut down due to the Market Village going into administration.
“Inside the market, we were limited to space and opening times. Sharing the space with other traders inside the market was both a blessing a curse.
“We built up great relationships with businesses around us and worked together on making the market work for everyone. However, it reduced privacy for our service users, which was always busy and noisy.
“It was a great starting point for us and we will always be grateful to Aberdeen Market managers for giving us the start we needed. But the new hub is amazing.
“Despite the challenges getting here, we are so happy to have found Regent Quay and I’m sure when people start visiting next week they will appreciate how different it is, in a good way.
“The hub will provide a drop-in service from 10am to 6pm five days a week, where individuals can pop in, get advice, information, request a 1-2-1 for support, pick up free contraception and sanitary products, or report hate crime – through the Police Scotland Third Party Reporting Service.
“It will give the community a central place to be, meet up, make new friends, enjoy activities that are not focused around alcohol venues.
“It provides a safe space for all ages and encourages community growth, reduces isolation, improves confidence and overall health and well-being.
“There’s also our 4pride shop, which offers a range of essential pride merchandise, as well as exclusive T-Shirts designed by local artist, Hello Radical, and other pride products for the whole family.
“Our support and social groups will also run from the new hub on Regent Quay.”
Work commenced on the new premises in July last year. However, coronavirus restrictions have prolonged the process.
Deejay says the past year “has been challenging but worth it”.
He added: “We signed the new lease in July 2020 and apart from being open for group support, during the very brief ease of lockdown last year, and 1-2-1 work for those that have needed interventions, we have been closed until now.
“There wasn’t much work to be done and thanks to local fundraising and grants from Equality Scotland, ACC and the National Lottery we have been able to get it all ready.
“We’ve installed a new accessible toilet, technology to keep groups safe and allow people to dial in from home, and updated the flooring following a flood in August last year.
“Four Pillars’ mission is to ‘support the LGBT+ community in manners of mental, emotional, physical, and sexual health on a person to person bases’ and the hub ticks all of those boxes for us.
“We hope the hub will provide individuals with the right resources to improve their own health and well-being but also encourage growth and community so they can support others going forward and provide that all-important peer-led feel to the organisation.
“Whether you’ve been here 100 times or just walked in for the first time, it feels like you belong. It offers a warm, welcoming relaxed experience and totally feels like you can make the hub your home.”
Four Pillars is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am-8pm with the drop-in service open from 10am-6pm Tuesday to Thursday and 10am-8pm Friday and Saturday.
For more information, visit www.fourpillarsuk.org
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