Activist group holding meeting on cost-of-living crisis in Tillydrone

By Ellie Milne

February 3 2023, 9:07 pm

The meeting will be held at Tillydrone Community Centre from 10am on Saturday. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson.

An Aberdeen-based activist group is holding a public meeting on the cost-of living crisis tomorrow.

Aberdeen is Jist Scunnered, formed of activists from community groups and trade unions, want to gain a better understanding of the challenges those who live in the city are facing at the moment.

Residents will be given the opportunity to complete a short community survey, and share their struggles amid the cost-of-living crisis as everyday costs and inflation continue to rise.

The activists hope the meeting will help build a stronger community, as well as inform suitable solutions for the problems which are impacting many people across Aberdeen.

The meeting at Tillydrone Community Centre, on Gordon’s Mills Road, will take place from 10am on Saturday.

It comes at the end of a week which involved the largest strike action in the UK for decades, with more than 500,000 workers walking out on Wednesday.

Workers in Aberdeen took part in a rally protecting their right to strike on Wednesday as half a million people took industrial action across the UK. Image: Chris Sumner/DC Thomson

‘Build community and solidarity’

Aberdeen activist Laura McDonald said: “We know that people are really struggling at the moment, and we want to understand exactly what their situations are, and build support for solutions to the problems they are facing.

“It is clear that, after more than a decade of austerity followed by the pandemic, many people don’t have the support structures or resources they need to meet much more than very basic needs.

“Rising food and energy prices are making things very difficult for folk, and we want to make sure that they know they are not alone. We need strong communities to face these challenges, but building this strength won’t happen without some effort.

“That is why we are going out and about to chap on doors and talk to folk, to find out what exactly they are experiencing.

“We hope to work out some community solutions together, to bring people together, to build community and solidarity. That is what our society needs so desperately now.”

Anyone is welcome to attend the meeting in Tillydrone and can just turn up on the day or contact AberdeenIsJistScunnered@gmail.com in advance.