In recent years, NGHA has played an increasingly important role in community development and ensuring that the huge physical improvements in the area are matched by improvements in the social and economic wellbeing of residents.

As the Community Anchor Organisation for Gorbals, the Association is well connected to most of the local groups and organisations as well as all levels of decision-making. NGHA uses this unique position to advocate for our community and partners at local and national government levels.

Since exiting the Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions, the Association has worked hard to focus wider action and community work on the Riverside area of Gorbals. This Scottish Housing Day, NGHA reflects on some of the great community spirit which has been championed by local people, and supported by the Association.

Daria lives in Riverside, and feels that being involved in the local community makes her more connected to the people around her. She said: “Back in Ukraine, I used to collect rubbish in the forest because I loved that place. It was a very simple and meditative activity and helped me to feel that the forest was truly mine.

“I joined a litter picking event here too and it gave me the same feeling – that when you care for a place, it starts to belong to you.”

Daria is also part of the Gorbals Growers, a gardening group which takes place on a Monday evening at a growing space in Commercial Court. The free group have learned how to plant and harvest their own produce, supported by the Association’s estates officer Stewart Furay. She added: “Gardening is truly healing for me and it helps me to feel calm and hopeful.

“When you are forced to leave your home because of a terrible war, it is very important to be  visible and heard. I am very grateful for the chance to feel a sense of belonging and to know that I can always ask for help.”

Thanks to a few local tenants, a regular residents’ group has been set up in the Way to Go Café at Waddell Court in Riverside. The group meet every six weeks and work alongside maintenance, housing and communities staff at NGHA to improve services and the local area. It’s a good way to get know neighbours over food and chat.

NGHA tenant Edward has attended the meetings for the past year and thinks they are a great way to get out, meet neighbours and make a positive contribution. He commented: “I read about this meeting in the Housing magazine and thought I would go along as a way of meeting people. I realised that a couple of the suggestions I’d made at the meetings had been implemented and were printed in the magazine. It made me feel listened to.”

Edward champions the community spirit in the Gorbals, and sees the meetings as just one way of working together. He added: “I feel quite proud to be involved, and it is helping me while I am unable to work. It has allowed me to achieve and feels like we are working together – there’s no top-down structure.”

In addition to existing meetings, groups and service, this Autumn, Gorbals Community Pantry is preparing to open at Commercial Court in Riverside. The idea for the pantry was first imagined in 2022 by long-time Gorbals resident Cath Wallace.

In 2023, over 300 local people voted through the Gorbals Ideas Fund Participatory Budgeting process to support the project, recognising the urgent need for access to affordable food in their area. Thanks to NGHA, the Pantry found a home in a disused community room, which the Association helped refurbish.

The pantry will be run entirely by steering group of local people, all volunteers, with the support of NGHA’s Communities Team. Long-term plans for the pantry include developing a growing space to help supply seasonal produce, offering cooking and meal-prep classes and more.

The Riverside area of Gorbals is a shining example of how New Gorbals Housing Association focuses on local people and how community works for them. This model of bringing together neighbours within a community is being replicated across neighbourhoods in the Gorbals, empowering people to be and make the changes they want to see in the community they live in.