A 24-year-old Band 6 Nurse for Care experienced young people (CEYPS) within Tayside.

 Since the age of 17, I have worked in a care environment, my first job was assisting children who have complex disabilities in the community. After qualifying, I started a role in the drug and alcohol service. The harsh reality of unmet needs means that too many young people are reaching crisis point before they have the opportunity to access support; from here I knew that I wanted to support young people within this community earlier before it comes to the point of accessing drug and alcohol services. Since then I have obtained a job supporting young people who are ‘Care experienced’ and have faced Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) throughout their early life. I now have the opportunity to help embed the voice of the care experienced community and I am so passionate about our young women’s health and promoting trauma-informed care within our CEYPS nursing service.

Outwith my full-time job, I have supported a young woman with Down’s syndrome for the last 7 years. We have ‘sleepovers’ every 2nd/3rd weekend and I do not see this as work. We are great friends who have and are continuing to make amazing memories together. In my personal life, we as a family have been supporting my mum who has been battling cancer for over 7 years; some days are harder than others but we as a family, always make it through. My dad works away from home, so often I have been her carer, both physically and emotionally, as required. Every day I strive to make an impact on the people around me, not only professionally but personally too.