Having had personal lived experience of many of the issues faced by local people in Hillhead, I realised that I needed more than just recovery. This was when the vision of a peer-led recovery after-care resource was born. As the founder of GRACE with a huge wealth of knowledge and experience in recovery and aftercare settings, one of my main skills that are transferable to the GRACE vision is the aspiration to assist individuals to live independent lives as they move forward.

Being a GRACE member and volunteer for many years, Yvette became a staff member in 2022. In her role as Volunteer Coordinator she supports members to become volunteers and reach their potential and carries this over to the community she lives and works in.

Lynnie was a GRACE volunteer for over five years before joining the Board as Secretary and then taking on the role of Project Coordinator in 2023. She uses her wealth of lived experience to support GRACE members and the wider community, as she, herself, has been supported.

After years in the corporate sector, Marthos found working with charities much more satisfying and found his niche working with people through charities. He joined GRACE in 2025 and supports our new referrals to find their place in GRACE.

After working in hospitality and as a bike mechanic, and being a volunteer in various charities for many years, Cory was pleased to be offered a role in GRACE, where he uses his lived experience to support our members as he has been supported in the past.

Isobel became a GRACE member in 2017, and a volunteer a year later. After contributing to the GRACE Board as a trustee she took up the position of lived experience Peer Support Worker and looks after the members in their daily activities at GRACE.

Having spent most of my working life in logistics, I found myself suffering from anxiety and depression. Fortunately I was introduced to GRACE in 2019 where I became a volunteer and was involved in, and later managed, the Foodshare project. In 2021 I was honoured to be elected to the Board of Trustees and became Chair in 2024.

After 37 years of payroll experience for a large organisation, I decided it was time to retire. I joined GRACE in 2021 as a member,volounteer and also a trustee of the board.
My life experiences have given me the tools to be able to empathise and give something back to the local community.

Claire is a local resident and has been a member of the Board for many years. She is also Chair of the Board of Hillhead Housing Association. Claire is a retired psychiatric nurse, a member of Kirkintilloch Community Council, Secretary of Strathkelvin Credit Union and Vice Chair of Glasgow & West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations.

Anne MacIntosh has been a huge supporter of GRACE for many years using her background with Business Gateway with business planning, development and funding.

I joined GRACE as a member in August 2023, and later as a volunteer. I support its ethos to help provide aftercare for those who have experienced any form of trauma. I became a Trustee in 2024 and will endeavor to maintain GRACE’s esteemed reputation.

I have been volunteering for GRACE since January 2019, when I facilitated mental health workshops as a trainee Cognitive Behavioural Therapist. What started as an opportunity to complete practice hours for my CBT qualification, very quickly evolved into a two-way collaboration. I was well looked after in my turbulent journey from being a Journalist in the Greek National Radio and Television to becoming an immigrant from a country crushed by financial crisis, to safely settling in my new home Glasgow, to losing both my parents to dementia, cancer and old age, to finally becoming an accredited CBT-EMDR Therapist. In return, I had the privilege to lend a helping hand and witness GRACE grow and access larger populations, constantly being at the forefront of supporting the local community. I don’t have the slightest doubt that GRACE is meant to have a bright future and I wholeheartedly wish to be part of that.

Having experience of being a business owner, Carol joined the GRACE Board as Treasurer in 2025.

Christine worked in the third sector for many years, managing the charity With You and partnering with GRACE. She has recently retired and has generously offered her time joining the GRACE Board.