WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO WORK IN THIS FIELD? I was 18 when I started my placement at WithYou. I didn ' t choose it – I had no lived experience. I knew that there were lots of people struggling with drugs and alcohol, especially in Glasgow, but I’ d never seen it first-hand. I’ m so fortunate that somebody somewhere had put me on that placement because it couldn’ t have been a better match for me. Then a recovery worker role came up and I applied and got it, and when the access worker role came up I thought,‘ That would suit me perfectly’.

I love to chat. There will be some people that don’ t feel like they’ re getting assessed – I ' m getting the answers that I need, but making them feel at ease because sometimes it ' s the first time they’ ve ever spoken to anyone about their struggles. I think it’ s lovely that they ' re open enough to talk to me, because I’ m a stranger. I always say to people that they can tell me as much or as little as they’ d like. Of course we need the right information to get them the right support, but they don ' t need to divulge anything to me that they don ' t feel comfortable with.

WHAT DOES A TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE? In this line of work no day will ever be the same, but my typical day is doing assessments – telephone or face-to-face. We get a lot of clients calling us where it’ s their first time reaching out for support. I’ ll have an initial conversation and see whether this is the most suitable service,

or whether they’ d be better with another. I ' ve got a lot of good working relationships with our partnership agencies, because I ' ve been here for almost seven years.

WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST REWARDING? Seeing the change in people. Most of the time, I get to talk to people at their worst who really, really need help. Then a few months later I’ ll see them at their graduation and they ' re doing brilliantly. Ultimately, they ' ve done the hard work themselves, and I just think it’ s so nice that they ' ve trusted us to be a part of their journey. I love listening to people and knowing they feel listened to and cared for. I just love it.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO CHANGE? I’ d love to see more things out in the community for people to do, whether it’ s recoveryfocused or related to their hobbies and interests. A service we work in partnership with, called Common Wheel, run a‘ build a bike’ course – you build a bike, and you get to keep it. You ' re getting all the social aspects, and you get something at the end. It ' s a holistic approach – sometimes you need a bit of support around your mental health, sometimes you need physical support, and sometimes you might benefit from a six-week free gym pass.

I’ ll say,‘ Look, it’ s not a big red magic button, and it ' s not going to solve all your problems. But it’ s four hours out of your day that you ' re out doing things, not

' I get to talk to people at their worst who really, really need help. Then a few months later I’ ll see them at their graduation and they ' re doing brilliantly. Ultimately, they ' ve done the hard work themselves, and I just think it’ s so nice that they ' ve trusted us to be a part of their journey.'

stuck in your own house, not stuck in your own head.’ That’ s why in our assessment we ask about hobbies and interests. Sometimes they don’ t know, or sometimes they ' ll say,‘ I really like to garden,’ and then I can put them forward for that as part of their care plan.

WHAT’ S YOUR ADVICE FOR ANYONE CONSIDERING A SIMILAR CAREER? If anybody was serious about going for the role I do, or any job at WithYou, I ' d say that I ' ve really loved it. I didn’ t know I wanted to do this but if you do, I’ d say go for it.

But you need to make sure you’ re doing it for the right reasons. This is a job where you’ re helping people day in, day out. I’ m the first point of contact for most people, so you need empathy and you need to want to help people. I work with great people – the recovery workers, our management and leadership team, everyone in our service. I feel like I can speak to every single one of them and know I’ m going to get support. DDN

24 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • APRIL 2026

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