Humans of Scotland

"Knowing I have someone in my corner, working on my behalf, is so important to help me navigate the current struggles I am facing."

“It is a vital service in the community and one I am eternally grateful for.”

“I am feeling more positive now, I am brighter…engaging with my Community Link Worker has opened a new door for me.”

“I want to continue to do the things I love and knowing there is someone I can talk to and someone encouraging me...is a great support."

“Thanks to our CLW I am now positive and focussed on the future. I don’t know where we would be without the support he has given us.”

"We were part of the initial evaluation that showed the enormous benefits that Link Workers provide."

“I can't stress what a difference Link Workers make to the practice and local community.”

“They are not doing it for the praise, they are doing it because they have a genuine interest in people.”

“Everyone should be able to live in peace and feel safe in their own home – that’s all I want, and I don’t think I am asking for a lot.”

“There is a statistic that for every £1 spent on CLWs it saves the NHS £8.79. There is a very clear argument there for the programme."

"They have become a vital part of the general practice team in Deep End practices."

"Any child that needs the additional support should get it without having to fight like we did."

“I guess because I had grown up with it, it’s always been part of my life."

“When you have nothing, that is a huge amount of money. It meant I could do things to support her learning difficulties.”

“You can’t really have much self pity because you need to have sympathy for others, not yourself.”

“Each day I ask ‘what matters to you today?’ and I’ll try my best to help patients to achieve this.”

"For young carers, they’ve got all those other responsibilities as well."

“There are times when it can be overwhelming.”

“I quickly learned that I prefer to think about other people than wallow. I didn’t realise it at the time, but it was a form of therapy.”

"Everyone living with HIV is a human being and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.“

"The idea of blame, guilt, and shame which I think is what has driven a lot of people within the HIV community to have poor mental health."

"A lot of my job was teaching others about the reality of HIV, as well as caring for people and families who were impacted by HIV."

"HIV is not just something from the past. We are still living with it, and we are still being stigmatised."

"A positive status doesn’t mean it’s the end of your world. I’m 25 years positive and still kicking!”

"That's my favourite part about my job - seeing people develop themselves, learn new skills, thrive and benefit from support of their peers"