Peer support is defined as people who provide knowledge, experience, emotional, social or practical help to each other.

Peer support is fast becoming an established practice especially in the mental health field. Peer support is not new! People have been sharing their experiences and learning from each other for centuries. (Scottishrecovery.net)

Rights, Respect and Recovery – “There is recognition of the benefits of involving people with lived and living experience across health and social care services. We need to build on existing approaches to this work to ensure that people who have experience pf problematic alcohol and drug use and recovery, as well as their family members and carers, are involved in the planning, development and delivery of services.”

MELD & CLEAR – Peer Support Service

The Peer Support Service is run jointly with Health in Mind’s CLEAR Project for people with substance misuse and mental health difficulties in Midlothian and East Lothian. It offers one-to-one support in the community from a Peer Support Worker with a lived experience of substance misuse problems.

Our Peer Support Workers link in with different organisations to offer support to people within services looking for support to go to appointments, going along to groups for the first time. They can advise about services in Midlothian and East Lothian that may be available to them.

To use the service, people need to:

• Be 18+ years old

• Live in Midlothian or East Lothian

• Have a drug or alcohol problem which they are trying to address.

• Be experiencing some kind of mental health difficulties. This is dependent on a diagnosis and could be things like anxiety or depression.

Is it confidential?

Yes, it is a confidential service. MELD’s confidentiality policy would be explained, in full, at the first meeting.

How do referrals work?

People can be referred by any agency. A Peer Support Worker will then meet the person one-to-one.

To request a referral form or return completed referral forms please contact:

Midlothian

contactus@health-in-mind.org.uk

CLEAR Project, 14 Lothian Street, Bonnyrigg EH19 3AB

0131 663 1616

East Lothian

office@meld-drugs.org.uk

MELD, The Esk Centre, Ladywell Way, Musselburgh, EH21 6AB

0131 446 4833

Poetry

The stories and poems in this section are written by people with first hand experience of drug use and the personal circumstances such as domestic violence, stigma and physical and emotional pain that are often experienced.  Readers should be aware that the language used is often uncompromising and may cause offence.

“Another Day over, another goes by, Be all of my daemons, and this is why. Children suffered with the choices I made, Drugs took over, nobody got paid.

Every week was always the same, Family suffering but I was to blame. Getting high or getting low, Happier days now, here we go.

Inspiration is what I am, Just want to run as fast as I can. Keep it going, try and stay safe, Look at me know, I’ve run my race.

Marathon next year is on my mind, No looking back, I’m one of a kind.

Oot ma head, always on the gas, People knew I came from the Pans.

Quitting the drugs was best for me, Run next year is what it’s to be. Sitting back and staying strong, Tracey’s trust has totally gone.

Up and down is what I was, Vodka bottles a fuckin lost cause. Wishing I could turn this around,

You’ve done it girl, you’ve done yourself proud.”

Substance Use: It’s Everyone’s Responsibility

Substance Use: It’s Everyone’s Responsibility