GRACE’s Lynnie is Making Waves!

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Big shoutout to Lynnie, the powerhouse Project Co-ordinator at GRACE (Group Recovery Aftercare Community Enterprise)! She was recently featured in the local newsletter for her incredible work in bringing trauma-informed practice to life in East Dunbartonshire.

If you’ve noticed the beautiful new artwork making the reception and clinical areas at KHCC feel a whole lot cosier and more welcoming lately, you have the team-up between the East Dunbartonshire Local Trauma Project Group and GRACE to thank!

A Day in the Life of a Community Champion

From organizing outreach and crunching impact data to keeping five different yoga projects running smoothly, Lynnie does a bit of everything. But her absolute favourite part of the gig? Dropping everything to catch up with GRACE members and make sure they feel heard and validated.

When asked about her professional secret weapon, Lynnie didn’t hold back on praising the local Trauma Skilled Training:

“The trauma training was a game changer for me. After completing my Trauma Informed I couldn’t wait to do my Trauma Skilled. It’s a common-sense approach that gave me tools I use every day.”

Lynnie’s Golden Rules 

How does she keep making such a massive impact? By keeping a mental checklist of five golden principles:

  • Safety

  • Trust

  • Collaboration

  • Choice

  • Empowerment

What’s Next for GRACE? 

With their shiny headquarters on Union Street, the GRACE team is moving away from “firefighting” mode and focusing heavily on prevention and early intervention—giving locals the tools they need to thrive before things get overwhelming.

 

Trauma Informed practice in action: A CONVERSATION with GRACE’s Lynnie

You may know that the East Dunbartonshire Local Trauma Project Group collaborated with one of our partners, GRACE (Group Recovery Aftercare Community Enterprise) in East Dunbartonshire, to feature artwork in KHCC’s reception and clinical areas in order to make a more trauma-informed and welcoming health centre. GRACE support people’s recovery from mental health difficulties, addiction problems, trauma, bereavement, loneliness and more, in the local community. Project Worker at GRACE, Lynnie McGrath, kindly shared with us a bit about GRACE, her role, and her experience of Trauma Skilled Training in East Dunbartonshire.

Hello Lynnie, please tell us a bit about your role as Project Co-ordinator at GRACE.

I love my role in GRACE. I get to do a bit of everything and every day is different. I do some outreach, visiting charities, services, schools and groups to speak about what we do. I am part of a brilliant team of lived experience staff who use their skills to support people to thrive. One day I can be at my desk helping with impact evaluation and the next I’m working with our yoga teachers to ensure our five yoga projects run smoothly. But the most important part of the job is supporting our members, and we drop everything for that. It’s great to catch up with them and use active listening skills to help them feel validated. A lot of my job is done in the office but I think it’s important to touch base with the people we support. It helps me to remember why we do what we do.

How did you hear about trauma-informed practice, and please tell us a bit about how you found the Trauma Skilled Training in East Dunbartonshire?

We get training opportunity emails from the Health and Social Care Partnership and share them with the GRACE Sharing Time network. As a charity, offers of free training are taken up whenever possible. The trauma training was a game changer for me. After completing my Trauma Informed I couldn’t wait to do my Trauma Skilled. It’s a common-sense approach that gave me tools I use every day.

In your experience of trauma-informed practice, is there one key message you would share with others?

The five key principles (Safety, Trust, Collaboration, Choice and Empowerment) are my mental checklist. As long as I stick with them I know I am treating people the way I would want to be treated, and I see the positive results so I know it works.

“The trauma training was a game changer for me. After completing my Trauma Informed I couldn’t wait to do my Trauma Skilled. It’s a common-sense approach that gave me tools I use every day.”

For further information on GRACE please get in touch here: Contact us

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