Humans of Scotland review of 2019

The Humans of Scotland team review their activities for the ALLIANCE annual report.

Humans of Scotland gives a platform to those with long term conditions, disabilities and those who are unpaid carers to share their personal stories. Recognising the importance of lived experience is at the heart of what we do at the ALLIANCE and Humans of Scotland embodies that ethos.

In 2019 we put a focus on the project to make it part of our regular social media output. With stories shared on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and on our website, we have been able to raise awareness across a breadth of topics from mental health to life after cancer, living with an invisible disability and addictions recovery.

We’ve engaged with over 100 people who wished to tell their story and with a Facebook reach of over 123,000 we can firmly say the project has spread far and wide. The voices of those who are often seldom heard were given an opportunity to be shared, to educate, to break down stigma and to create a community around the project that has seen friendships form.

Early in 2019 we floated the idea of producing a book. As the project continued the strength of the stories spoke for themselves and we felt that a book would be the most fitting tribute to those who had taken part, and a further way to raise awareness. On the 25^th September at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh we launched the Humans of Scotland book.

Bringing people together for the launch proved to be an important moment in the story of the project. Contributors were able to meet each other, and we heard from a number of them who read their stories to the audience. We held a panel discussion on the power of storytelling and discussed the process of sharing on recovery and experiences that have shaped the lives of those taking part.

Today there is a copy of the Humans of Scotland book that includes a foreword from the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, and thirty stories from the project, in every library in Scotland. We wanted to make the book as accessible as possible and were delighted to partner with charity Royal Blind and Scottish War Blinded to produce the book in braille and audio.

Moving into 2020 we are building on the success of 2019 and growing the outputs for Humans of Scotland. We are producing podcasts and audio versions of the stories which are available on a new Humans of Scotland channel on Spotify (this link will take you away from our website). Our commitment to telling the stories of those with long term conditions, disabilities and unpaid carers remains firm.

View a short video of Humans of Scotland’s achievements throughout 2019 on YouTube (this link will take you away from our website).

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