Words by Angela Clark
& Photos by Caroline Finn
For many, Christmas is a time to think about helping others, but for Mathew Kelly it is a daily pleasure to bring positivity to the life of anyone he meets.
The young Bankie from Whitecrook was diagnosed with Aspergers, a form of autism spectrum disorder.
He has difficulty remembering things and his thought patterns can be rigid and repetitive, although he lets nothing stop him from trying to bring joy to other people, as many have helped him through some difficult years.
Mathew explained: “When I was younger, I had trouble understanding things.
“I would get paranoid, I had white hair and had to dye it because I was getting taunted in school.
“I was also overweight, but I got help with that.
“I eventually went to the College of the West Scotland and did a transition course to get used to college life and I met new friends.”
Two years after completing his college courses he went on to be involved with the Golden Friendship Club and is now an ambassador for the charity.
His role involves welcoming people, helping them fit in and supporting them in the community.
He said: “I was given lots of support in school and college and that’s why I love being an ambassador to help new people and support them.
“I like to be a positive person in the community.”
Photography
Julie McGarry is full of praise for the support Mathew provides.
She said: “Mathew was the first person I met when I went to Golden Friendships Club.
“He introduced me to people as I was nervous and because of his encouragement I now have a great group of new friends.”
As well as helping others Mathew is a keen photographer with a special love of old photographs.
He regularly goes out and about taking pictures of historical landmarks.
This wasn’t always possible as he suffered from anxiety.
He explained what changed: “I suffered from bad anxiety and Martin Kirkwood, my support worker, took me right out of it.
“He encouraged me to think more positively about life and every morning when I wake up now I have a positive attitude.”
Stirling Castle
Mathew’s enthusiasm to help others and his passion for photography recently landed him another ambassador role, this time for Historic Environment Scotland (HES).
After completing the Picturing Our Past photography project run by Inclusive Images social enterprise, he was asked to join a small group of participants to help advise HES on how to make their buildings and activities more accessible for people with disabilities.
This involved a visit to Stirling Castle where the group discussed any changes that would benefit and improve the experience for people.
Mathew said: “A few weeks back Charlie Sherry from Inclusive Images took me and some others to Stirling Castle as I couldn’t have got there myself.
“Together in the group we discussed wheelchair users and how they would benefit from a lift being installed to allow them to have the same experience as others.”
Being a member of other clubs before Golden Friendships has given him a better understanding of how to make people with disabilities feel welcome.
This and his own experience make him perfect for these ambassador roles.
He said: “I’m not a support worker but I like to think the ones that reach out to me, can trust me.
“My role is to be there for people.
“I would never lose patience or get angry or stressed with them.
“They can come and speak to me, and I’ll treat what they tell me in confidence.”
Mathew had many people help him and their attitude had a lasting positive effect on his life, now he wants to do the same for others.
To view Mathew’s photographs, visit Mathew Kelly’s Photography page on Facebook.