People who have overcome adversity or addiction are being encouraged to become community leaders thanks to a £800,000 funding boost from the National Lottery Community Fund.
The cash will be awarded to 20 projects across the UK supporting those with first-hand experience of social issues.
Among those benefitting are people who have experienced substance use and recovery who will become leaders in representing their communities, thanks to an award to the Scottish Recovery Consortium (SRC).
Also sharing in the funding from the National Lottery Community Fund is Inclusion Scotland, who will pilot a leadership programme for disabled people across the country.
The SRC will use their £50,000 award to establish a National Lived Experience Network across Scotland, bringing together and training people with experience of problematic substance use to become leaders in giving a voice to their communities.
These leaders will be encouraged to play an active role in the development of services at local, regional and national level which will then feed into existing Scottish Government policy.
Michaela Jones, the SRC’s national lived experience development officer, said: “If we continue to design systems and make policy decisions that do not take into account the voices of people who are directly impacted by those decisions, we will always be missing an important part of the puzzle.
“This award will enable us to work directly with people with lived experience and their families to ensure that they can bring their own unique perspective to the table.”
Inclusion Scotland will use their £50,000 award to run a pilot project aimed at bringing together a group of disabled leaders to design and deliver a programme of leadership training and mentoring.
Those taking part will have the opportunity to join policy panels to influence disabled rights at a national level.
Ethan Young, the charity’s civic participation officer, said: “The fund is a major step forward in promoting the value of lived experience in leadership and decision making.
“Disabled people have a wealth of lived experience and skills that too often go untapped. We need a radical shift in society’s perception of disabled people. Instead of simply being the subject of consultation there needs to be recognition of our role as change-makers and leaders.”
The Lived Experience Leader Pilot Programme, which was developed through workshops across the UK involving more than 70 lived experience leaders, is a core part of The National Lottery Community Fund’s “people in the lead” strategy.
Maureen McGinn, the fund’s Scotland chair, said: “The voices of those with lived experience have frequently been absent from important discussions such as those on assets, services and resources. This funding should help remedy that.
“In Scotland, people living with disabilities and those with direct experience of drug or alcohol misuse will use their first-hand experience to create positive change for others. I admire them for their passion and ambition to assist others and look forward to following the future development of this valuable activity.”
