Connect with Councillors - Councillor Clare Steel

By Councillor Clare Steel, Clydebank Central Ward

As a new Councillor I have had the opportunity over the past two and a half years to be able to help my constituents at my surgeries, through telephone contact and from correspondence such as email, with a range of enquiries covering things like Housing, Education, Roads to name a few..  A lot of times the constituent enquiries can be fairly straightforward and a response from the relevant department can often resolve the issues raised fairly quickly. However, like all other Councillors I get my fair share of more complex cases, and ones where the person can be at the end of their tether. Often they can be distraught about how the issue is affecting them or just as likely they are worried about the health & wellbeing of a close family member. Complex cases like this can be really difficult to resolve, so knowing the right people to deal effectively with the case is vital so that the individual or family get the right support as soon as possible. I know a lot of Councillors like myself can sometimes be affected by the circumstances that others are experiencing, especially if it chimes with some past challenging experiences, where you can feel that nobody is listening, nobody really understands how you feel, or you can sometimes feel alone and that nobody wants to help. However, I tend to use my past experience as a driving force to help to get things done and where possible to put things right. I fully understand how important it can be to be able to share your story to someone and what a huge difference the help and support from another person outside of your own household can be. All Councillors will try to understand and help their constituents to the best ability and they will do their best to help you get the answers or the help you need, as quickly as possible. The Connecting Our Community project should help raise awareness of what your local Councillor can do for you, how you can contact them, and hopefully encourage people to seek help and assistance as soon as possible rather than waiting until there is a crisis.