Louise Stewart celebrates a milestone

This year is the 20th anniversary of WithYou in Scotland. Celebrating such a milestone can feel difficult when Scotland has a far higher rate of drug-related deaths than other European nations and alcohol continues to have a devastating impact on our communities.

Yet over the last two decades my wonderful colleagues have helped tens of thousands of people take steps towards a healthier life. It is important to take a moment to reflect on all we have achieved.

To mark our anniversary, we held a learning event for around 130 partners, commissioners and other stakeholders in the drug and alcohol support sector. This event, at the Technology and Innovation Centre in Glasgow, was themed around our organisational vision: a future free from harm caused by alcohol and drug challenges, where anyone seeking help feels welcomed, not judged.

We opened with a screening of Wherever You Are In Scotland, We Are WithYou. This new film beautifully captures our commitment to supporting people in parts of Scotland that aren’t necessarily easy to reach by sharing client stories from Mid-Argyll, Dundee, Islay and our important webchat service.

The words of our client James, a Mancunian living on Islay, fill me with pride and underline my commitment to taking a rights-based approach to service delivery.

In the film, he says: “[My support worker Ailsa] doesn’t judge you. And that’s the biggest thing. The one thing I’ve found with WithYou is they listen to what you want. They don’t force you to do something. They don’t say, ‘if you don’t do this, I ain’t coming back’. 

“I would love to be able to go out with my mates, have a few pints, have a takeaway, and go home… not go out, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink, drink. I don’t want to quit drinking… free from harm, for me, is to take the advice.”

After presenting our film, we moved on to a series of thought-provoking discussions on the future of service delivery in Scotland. I passionately believe that people who are facing challenges with drugs and alcohol must be able to access the right support for them, free from stigma and discrimination, when and where they need it, with no expectations put on them. And that, to achieve this, both policy and service delivery must be aligned under a rights-based approach.

I am extremely thankful to the speakers who shared their personal experiences. To Pauline, Gerry and Jim, valued WithYou volunteers who run a Mutual Aid Partnership group for older people. And my inspiring colleague Rosie, who explained how her own history with drugs and alcohol informs her determined and compassionate approach to supporting people in her community.

I am also grateful to our expert panellists. It speaks volumes about collaboration in the third sector that Rod Anderson, chief officer at Recovery Coaching Scotland and Borders In Recovery, Kirsten Horsburgh, chief executive officer at Scottish Drugs Forum and Rowan Anderson, project lead at Corra Foundation, all took part. And it was a privilege to be joined by Dr Eric Carlin, teaching fellow on the Master of Public Health programme at Edinburgh University.

The participation of Alison Crocket, head of the whole systems unit, drug policy division at Scottish Government, and Trina Ritchie, lead clinician at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Alcohol and Drug Services, highlights the role of the third sector in supporting the public sector to deliver vital services. I have worked with Trina throughout my career with WithYou and I value her greatly. Partnership work is key to our approach at WithYou, and I believe we must role model this at every opportunity.

I joined WithYou as a project worker in 2010, when the charity was still known as Addaction, and last year I was appointed director of service delivery. When I think about our vision of 'a future free from harm', I think about working in partnership with the 130 people who took time out of their busy days to attend their event - as well as the people I am yet to meet - to help our clients, like James, to find a path towards a healthier life, with the self-belief to thrive. Whatever that looks like for them.

Louise Stewart is director of service delivery at WithYou.