A FORMER employee at Victim Support Scotland (VSS) is calling on the charity to reopen its Clydebank office as well as provide clarity to local residents on how they can access the service in a crisis.

Susan Campbell worked for VSS for around 12 years, starting as a volunteer in Clydebank and eventually working her way up to managing the service.

She told the Post that she is concerned that removing this service from the heart of the town will have a “dramatic negative impact” on those who rely on it or may have to use it.

The charity said its Clydebank office, on Kilbowie Road, hasn’t been open to the public since 2019, but that it only officially closed last month.

It is understood that due to the Covid pandemic and the office’s ceiling falling in that staff have only now just been able to clear out the building as it was previously deemed unsafe.

The office was provided by West Dunbartonshire Council which covered rent and running costs.

Susan explained that the hub covered a huge area stretching from Kilcreggan to Knightswood.

She is now worried about how service users will access the service as she claims the closure was not widely publicised.

She said: “When you go on to the website or Google Victim Support Clydebank it’s still telling you that the office is open. It’s actually updating every day.

“When I searched for it yesterday, it said it was open and that it would be closing shortly at 5pm, so anybody looking it up will think it’s open if they aren’t aware that it closed.

“There’s been nothing in the local papers. I’m concerned about how service users will now be able to access the service.

“It is a charity, and if it didn’t have the money to fund the office, then there was nothing that could really be done. But rent and running costs were paid for by West Dunbartonshire Council so why would a charity close its doors?"

The service provided help to victims of crime in the area, covering everything from anti-social behaviour to rape and murder.

Susan said that many of the people who use the service could get the bus or train right to the town centre, just a few moments’ walk from the hub.

“People from Knightswood found it easier to come to Clydebank than the Glasgow office,” she said.

“Some people would come after taking their children to school. You probably don’t want to talk about these subjects when your children are about so when they’re at school it’s easier to get to Clydebank and back."

Kate Wallace, chief executive of VSS, explained that the charity is currently looking for a new base to cover all of West Dunbartonshire – including Clydebank.

Ms Wallace said: “Our Clydebank office was closed quite some time ago for a number of reasons, not least because it was no longer fit for our purposes.

“Support to victims and witnesses of crime in the Clydebank area is still being given by our West Dunbartonshire Victim Support Scotland team who work across the local authority.

“As a victim-centred organisation, we are keen to ensure we provide support in the ways that those we support want. This is fundamental to our organisation.

“We are currently looking for suitable premises across the whole of West Dunbartonshire that would offer a trauma-sensitive environment where VSS can provide support.

“We feel that this will allow us to offer more choice to victims of crime and that having choices provides the most responsive support to those who need us.

“Those being supported by us in West Dunbartonshire are in contact with our staff and volunteers regularly and nothing will have changed for them."

West Dunbartonshire’s MP Martin Docherty-Hughes commented: “Whilst I’ve been assured by Victim Support Scotland that face-to-face support services remain available for anyone living in West Dunbartonshire, it’s disappointing that the local Clydebank office has not reopened post-lockdown.

“I will be raising this further with the chief executive of Victim Support Scotland.

"The Scottish Government provides significant funding to support the victims of crime and it’s vital that families in West Dunbartonshire know help is available.”

A West Dunbartonshire Council spokesperson added: "Victim Support Scotland contacted the council to give early notice on their lease due to a review of their estate strategy.

"Victim Support, under their agreement with the council, is liable for all repairs during their lease and no issues were identified when the property was recently inspected."