Why did you decide to apply for the Project Coordinator post back in 2000?
I was just about to finish my Postgraduate diploma in Community Education in Dundee and was looking for work when I saw the part-time, one year 25hr post advertised in the Shetland Times. I found the post interesting; it was about developing a new project in Shetland to support children and young people with volunteer befrienders. I applied, came home for the interview and was offered the post which I was delighted about.
What are some of your earliest memories of the Scheme at that time?
As the Befriending project was a new initiative, the first six months in post was about establishing the project, getting policies and procedures developed alongside developing materials for volunteer initial training. I attended a number of training events on the mainland via Befriending Networks and visited some projects too and that was invaluable to talk to those who had experience of running a Befriending project, so I was on a big learning curve to shape up what I was going to be delivering in Shetland. It was really exciting when we launched the project and did our very first volunteer recruitment drive. We had a great response from the community with 12 people coming forward to volunteer and take part in our first training sessions. We then started to engage with partner agencies to refer children and young people to the project and it was really wonderful when I did my very first match between a young person and their volunteer. More matches followed and through on-going experience and practice I was able to adapt processes to meet our needs.
What are the biggest changes which took place during your time working at the Scheme?
Biggest changes were when the project grew to meet local need, the first development came in 2005. The initial project supported children and young people from 7 to 16 years, however we were aware that young adults who were living in their own accommodation could benefit from some 1:1 support. Funding was sourced locally from Shetland Islands Council Housing Department and from other external sources and the project expanded to support individuals from aged 7 to 25 years. We also recruited a development worker to support this area of work. Further expansions occurred in 2008 to meet demand with funding sourced from Children in Need to support young people aged 7 to 18 years with additional support needs to be supported on a one-to-one basis, with another development worker recruited to this post. The next development was supporting older members of our community, those aged 60+ years. Lottery funding was sourced in 2011 for a 5-year period and another development worker recruited to support this area of work. By continuing to evolve and meet need, by 2017 the service was support individuals from aged 7 years through to 107. By this point the project had grown from a single part-time project Co-ordinator’s post to a full-time co-ordinator’s post and five development workers to meet local demand for support.
The beauty of the project is that it has continued to evolve and develop, it has never stood still. In Covid, the team were able to adapt to provide a telephone befriending service to engage with those who were lonely and isolated, as well as continuing to support volunteers with the project to connect with those they were matched to in different ways throughout the pandemic.
Another significant change was the move from Harbour House into Market House in 2005. It was fabulous to move into a purpose build facility that housed other charities. Also, when I was based in Harbour House, I had responsibility for winding the large public facing clock on the building every Friday so that it would keep time. If I forgot, I was notified! So, when we moved to these wonderful new premises at Market House, I was grateful to no longer have clock winding duties!
Do you have a particular achievement you would like to share, from your time at the Scheme?
Through our quality assurance accreditations, the Shetland Befriending Scheme has been held up as a model of high standard and good practice locally and nationally, which I am very proud of. It’s all about delivering a good, quality service to the service users as well as providing a positive volunteering experience for befrienders.
Also when I meet individuals, years later, who have accessed the service and they talk about the positive impact that it had on them, I really feel honoured that we have been able to help, support and enable people to be all they can be, that’s really special.
How does it feel to know the Scheme has now reached it’s 25th anniversary?
Little did I know when I first applied for the post, what would be achieved, it’s amazing really! I was involved directly with the scheme for nearly 21 years and was on the project’s journey. I’m really proud of what has been accomplished and that the project will continue to help those in our community who need it.
What would you say to someone who was thinking about volunteering with the Scheme?
Don’t hesitate to get in touch with staff at the project, they are a wonderful team, it’s a great experience and you will make a difference to someone’s life.
