Our founding story 10th March 1870, the precursor to VSA was born. The Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor came into being as an organised response to supporting the people of Aberdeen who had the least. It was founded by a group of people who were willing to do three things: make regular donations to support the poor, visit the poor to better help and understand the problems they faced and to manage the Association.
Over 500 visitors were recruited and each was allocated 10-12 families to build a supportive relationship through gentle speech and behaviour, kindly inquiry and interest and advice of a practical sort. It was hoped that this was a way of coping “with the great evils that prevail in the midst of the population, by organising a system of combined and harmonising action”. It was inspired by similar poor associations in London, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Glasgow. There was a strong focus on enabling the poor to help themselves, rather
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than just giving handouts. The aim was to “foster a spirit of self-reliance and thrift.” The Association did a lot of work to identify who they believed to be “the proper objects of relief”. They considered worthy recipients to be “sober and industrious” individuals who, through no fault of their own, risked falling into poverty from which there was no way out. This could be caused by accident, sickness or family distress, which they could not predict or avoid. The members of the Association, through their visits, set about encouraging the poor of Aberdeen to live “temperate, frugal, industrious, provident and cleanly lives” and to better understand what assistance they could provide to help them turn their lives around. It was not a religious association and one of its early aims was that relief should be given without reference to any religious distinctions and that complete impartiality should be observed. The prosperous people of the city were keen to show that they really cared about those who were worse off and wanted to explore ways to encourage them and lift them out of poverty.
Some of these aims, set out in March 1870, still ring true in 2020. VSA aims to provide the best of care to enable the best of lives by supporting individuals and communities to fulfil their potential.
What an incredible thing it is that the people of Aberdeen have built and maintained these ambitions for 150 years. What a powerful thing it would have been for those founding members to know how many generations of Aberdonians their vision would support. To mark our 150th Anniversary, we will be releasing a special ‘150 stories of VSA’ anniversary book. The book will highlight our rich heritage, the amazing people behind it, the individuals, families and communities who have been helped and some of the landmark moments in our history.
