Trinity Network celebrates half a century of service

Hundreds of people attended a celebratory event to mark the 50th anniversary of the Trinity Network at the URC church on Nesfield Road in Belle Isle on Friday 14 June.

Trinity Network offers a range of day facilities for older people in South Leeds, including hot lunches, a range of activities, trips and holidays. It provides opportunities for friendship, social interaction and to keep people safe, healthy and independent.

The center and church were decorated with balloons and favors, as well as hundreds of photos showcasing the work, members and volunteers over the decades. The discussion was lively as old friends caught up and talked about old times and new developments.

Among the many guests were the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Cllr Abigail Marshall Katung, Hilary Benn and Tom Riordan, Chief Executive of Leeds City Council.

Manager Trevor Heylings gave the audience a potted history, explaining how the Trinity Network began as an ‘Over 55s Club’ based at the Dewsbury Road URC church. It developed opening in Belle Isle in 1982 and changed its name in 2011. Unfortunately the Dewsbury Road site had to close in 2020 due to Covid and has not reopened but a minibus provides transport to allow members from Beeston to access the services.

Alex Walker, Chairman of the Trinity Network, also spoke, thanking all the staff and volunteers who served and remembering that these members have passed away over the years.

He recalled asking a member how they got involved with the Trinity Network. She explained that her mother used the service twenty years ago and told her it was “too good not to go”.

Tom Riordan, chief executive of Leeds City Council, told South Leeds Life:

“I think it’s an amazing milestone and I came here today just to thank the people personally for what they’ve done and continue to do for the community. You just have to be here to feel the energy in the room. Without something like this, older and vulnerable people would feel isolated, they would feel alone, it’s that sense of community, that sense of being part of something bigger is just absolutely fantastic. It is a wonderful asset for the residents of South Leeds

“The council funds some of this work and the reason we do it is because we know that this is what people, in political terms, would call prevention. If these people didn’t have a place to come and work, even if it’s once a week, or once a month, then they’d be at home maybe more likely to have a fall in the house, or they’d be more likely to have mental health problems. This work is going so far that the state would have to fund it otherwise, so it’s really money well spent from our point of view. A lot of people here are volunteers, community members who want to do the right thing, so if we can enable that to happen, that’s brilliant for us.”

Hilary Benn said

“It was a privilege to be here to celebrate fifty years of the Trinity Network. I was just listening to Alex Walker talking, all the effort, all the care that’s been received and all the generations of old people that have benefited from what’s going on here and was going on in Dewsbury Road before it closed. You know when people say “what is community spirit?” sit here and look around you – you can see it, you can feel it, you can touch it. It was a wonderful morning.”

The mayor added:

“The first word has to be ‘Wow!’ It is absolutely inspiring to know where I come from and where I am now. Half a century, that’s amazing. To see the joy in the eyes of the elderly is priceless.”

Committee member Elizabeth Myers was involved from the beginning

“I used to come in the school holidays to help out and did my work experience at Dewsbury Road. My grandmother as she got older was in a wheelchair and the only way she could go on holiday was if someone went on her holidays to the daycare center to push her wheelchair. I thought it was something I could do, so I joined Dewsbury Road Day Center pushing wheelchairs.”
Reflecting on the 50th anniversary, she said: “It’s just a wonderful thing.”

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