A leading north-east cancer support charity is to expand its services within Moray after a successful first eight months operating within the area.
CLAN Cancer Support opened the doors of its new drop-in centre in Elgin in July last year and has since gone from strength-to-strength, providing a range of free support services to anyone affected by cancer within the Moray region.
To meet demand for these services the charity’s base at 227 High Street has extended its hours and will now be open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 4pm and on Tuesdays from 2pm to 8pm, aiming to make its free support services more accessible to local people.
Since its opening last year the charity has also established a successful monthly men’s group within Elgin. This group gives men the opportunity to come together in a friendly and supportive environment, allowing them to talk openly to people who are undergoing similar experiences with cancer.
As a result of this success CLAN is looking to introduce three other groups to this growing portfolio.
A weekly relaxation group every Wednesday and a monthly craft group are all to begin in the coming weeks, again with the aim of supporting anyone affected by cancer. The charity will also introduce a creative writing group – ‘Words for Wellbeing’. The group will be in six-week blocks and will offer people time and space to express their feelings in writing.
The charity’s children and family services manager is also present within the centre every second Wednesday, giving clients the chance to arrange a meeting in advance or simply drop-in to find out how CLAN can help them and their young ones.
Debbie Thomson, CLAN’s CEO, said: “CLAN is committed to offering our free support services across the north-east of Scotland and Moray and I’m delighted that we are in the position to increase our offering for people in Elgin and the surrounding area.
“The extension of opening hours and the development of a whole host of new groups really is in response to the level of demand that the centre has witnessed since its opening in July last year.
“With awareness of the charity and how we can help growing within the area, we will continue to look at ways at making our range of services, which are all aimed at helping comfort people throughout their experiences with cancer, as accessible to as many local people as we can.”
For more information on the charity’s services in Elgin and any of the new groups, please drop in to the centre or call CLAN on 01343 544132.