A LIFELINE service supporting disabled people which was on the brink of folding has been saved.

The Tuesday Friendship Club, which supports around 90 vulnerable adults along with their carers, met every week at Barrhead’s Columba Club.

But members were hit with devastating news last month when the venue had to suddenly close due to a major electrical fault.

READ MORE: Tuesday Friendship Club in Barrhead seeks somewhere to call home​

The closure left the club in limbo and without a permanent home to go to.

But bosses at the town’s Masonic Lodge, in Cochrane Street, have now stepped in to save the day, offering the club a base every Wednesday evening.

Mags Monaghan, chair of the friendship club, said: “We are obviously still gutted about the closure of the Columba Club because the location was ideal. 

“It was good for car parking, the disabled access was good and the place was massive.

“But it is great we have managed to link in with David McArthur from the Masonic Lodge. We are extremely grateful to him.

“Sadly, I have lost two volunteers who have been with us since day one and my DJ, so we’ll be looking for new ones.

“It’s been swings and roundabouts really but we had to think about how we could sustain the club in the long-term.”

Meanwhile, the future of the Columba Club hangs in the balance, with bosses there stating repairs could cost around £12,000.

As things stand, there is no definitive date of when the venue will reopen.

Police have also confirmed the club, in Darnley Road, was recently broken into after they received reports last Thursday.

A statement from the club said: “It looks like the club will need to be completely rewired, somewhere in the region of £12,000.

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“We are looking into avenues of how to raise these funds. Sometime over the last few days, the club has been broken into and a lot of damage has been done.

“At this point, we don’t have an estimate of when the club will reopen.”

The Tuesday Friendship Club was set up by Mags in 2017 to help her sister Gillian, who has cerebral palsy.

The club will keep its name but the events will be now be called TFC Wednesdays, which will start next week at 6pm.

Anyone interested in volunteering for the club should contact Mags on 0787 611 1806.
Prospective volunteers should already be involved in the social care industry or have a close link to it.