Working in partnership with Govan Housing Association, I have been taking portraits of residents and organisations in Govan as well as gathering their stories during the Covid-19 pandemic. The objective of this project is to highlight community resilience and partnership throughout the pandemic.
Stories of Govan
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“During lockdown Govan really came together with organisations creating partnerships to ensure the community’s needs were heard and met. Whether it was a hot meal, toiletries, a craft pack for the young ones or standing out in the rain to get essential supplies to the locals, Govan had it all. Govan is and always has had community values at its core.”
- Lauren, lifelong Govan resident
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Rebecca has lived in Govan for 12 years. Being a single mum with 3 kids, the pandemic has been a struggle. Understandably she has had a lot of fears and anxieties for the safety of her children which she has had to hide from them in order to be strong for the whole family. Rebecca has been using the Govan Help food bank throughout the pandemic which has been of enormous help. She describes the organisation as really going the extra mile to support residents, even delivering food to her door when she was too sick to make it along to the food bank. Rebecca is also very thankful of the support from the housing association, who provided food in the initial stages of the lockdown as well as topping up gas and electricity for residents.
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Angaddeep and his family live in Govan. They are extremely grateful for the support they have received from local organisations during the pandemic and feel that Govan is a great community to be a part of. The family have a close relationship with the team from GYIP and believe that their support has been invaluable to them. Angaddeep has a diploma in music but sadly had no access to an instrument. On hearing this, the team from GYIP very kindly donated an electric guitar which has kept Angaddeep busy. The family have also been given a Lenovo tablet which has been great for vital digital connection as well as a means of entertainment. Angaddeep uses the tablet to access online music lessons while his mother watches her favourite TV shows. Govan Housing Association very kindly donated extra data for their tablet. Other organisations the family would like to highlight for their generous support include Unlock Employment, Govan Help and the Preshal Trust.
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Daniel and his family have lived in Govan since 2017. Times have been tough for the family during the pandemic. Daniel works for Glasgow City Council as a school cleaner. His fulltime hours were cut down to 24 per week during the initial lockdown, with his wife losing her job altogether. With bills mounting up and a substantial reduction in money coming in, they were worried they wouldn’t be able to feed their baby daughter Jemimah. A friend suggested they contact Govan Help, which they did, and the family have been using the service’s food bank regularly since March. Daniel describes the food bank as being a ‘life saver’ for the family. They provide milk for baby Jemimah and using it has enabled the family to pay their bills and keep their heads above water. The regular support they have received from Annie from Govan Help has been especially helpful. Annie phones them every week to check in with them and they don’t know how they would have survived without her support. The family have also had assistance from their neighbours. One neighbour Michael brings toys for Jemimah and has offered the family food and money on several occasions. Daniel believes the community of Govan have really pulled together during the pandemic with its residents looking out for one another.