Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action Magazine December 2022

20 AVA | December 2022
Aberdeenshire Peer
Support Service|
Celebration event September 2022
Sharon Francis
AVA Development Officer,
specialising in Supporting
Independent Living
Turning Point Scotland’s Peer Support
Service hosted a celebration event in late
September attended by over 50 community
members along with staff from partner services
who made the journey to Inverurie to join in the
fun. A balloon activity got conversations going,
new connections were formed, and enabled
everyone to come together as one.
Patrick McKay, Operations Manager opened
the day with a welcome and thanks to all
involved then a busy round of conversation
cafés gave people opportunities to share
key thoughts, ideas and reflections on peer
support. This provided important feedback
and information which will be used to make
improvements and plan ahead.
A fantastic lunch was proved by Grannie
Smiths Hamebakes and a series of informative
workshops were then held over the day. Kerry
from HMP Grampian told her story explaining the
changes she has made and about the training
she had received from the peer service. Kerry is
now back at home living the life she wants and
is hoping to use her knowledge and experience
to support others. Go Kerry!
The hosts of SMART Recovery and Medication
Recovery and Me shared their experiences and
highlighted to the audience on the benefits of
the groups.
Fiona from Networks of Wellbeing (Huntly)
held a group activity to help identify how a
community can be affected by mental health.
A peer showcase was facilitated by Ashley and
Kathleen who described their work as group
facilitators. Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action
explained the support that AVA can offer and
how the service assists the voluntary community.
Ally, Nicky and Amanda gave an insight into
their recovery journey and Kathleen gave
further understanding about supporting a loved
one through hard times. All accounts were heart
felt, moving and inspirational.
A number of community members had been
active volunteers in their communities, long
before the peer service began. So it was a
pleasure to recognise the contributions of
Kevin, Kathleen, Sheila and Craig for their time
and commitment. MANY THANKS to AVA for
supporting this! Members even took part in a
quiet crafts session and an acupuncture tester!
At the close of the event the buzz, conversations
and connections were all evident as the hall
cleared. It was great to see weel kent faces
and a good few new ones.