Sector Spotlight: Craig Nisbet, Purposeful Blide Co-ordinator

In this edition of our Sector Spotlight on the Third Sector, we hear from Craig Nisbet, Purposeful Blide Coordinator at the Orkney Blide Trust. The Blide are a charity who aim to promote good mental health and wellbeing in Orkney through active and personalised support. They offer a variety of services to bring about their aim, including one-to-one support, counselling and befriending services, and a variety of events.

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--Can you describe a typical day in your role as Purposeful Blide Co-ordinator?
I’m lucky enough to have a very varied job because we respond to the needs of the people we work with.  Sometimes I’ll be talking through a difficult situation one on one with people, sometimes working in groups like our gardening group or our new board games group, and I also work on the social media and website so everyone can keep up to date with what’s going on.  All plans for a day can change completely depending on who walks through the door.
 
--How did you end up in this role?
I started volunteering with the Special Olympics when I was young, and this led to working with individuals with additional needs and in youth disability sports.  When I needed full time work, I ended up in kitchens and cafes around Glasgow, until someone at a table I was serving said I was really good with people and asked if I’d thought about a job doing mental health support.  It turned out he was a board member of the Scottish Action for Mental Health (SAMH).  This conversation led me to working in supported accommodation services across Glasgow, supporting people with severe and enduring mental illness to reintegrate into the community after long term hospital stays.  In 2010 I made the move to Canada, working in a locked acute care unit in Toronto where my role was crisis de-escalation.  When I moved backed to Scotland in 2015 I went back to SAMH.  When I fancied a new challenge, I did my HGV licence and drove trucks around the Loch Lomond area for a couple of years before moving to Orkney in 2019.  I worked with VAO Connect throughout Covid, before moving to work with Thaw Orkney supporting some of their most vulnerable clients.  I was then lucky enough to find my home at the Blide Trust in May 2022.
 
 
--What is the best thing about your job?
I love the variety. I love having the autonomy to work alongside people in the way that they need and want.
 
--What is the worst thing about your job?
Difficulty accessing the resources people need because services are so stretched.
 
--What skills do you need to undertake your role?
The capacity to listen, patience, respect, the ability to find clarity in complexity and identify options for moving forward, enjoying being around people, knowledge of other local services available, IT skills, valuing confidentiality of the individuals you’re supporting, being able to approach difficult situations with empathy and an understanding of how trauma informs behaviour.
 
--What qualifications do you have?
I started a degree in Psychology and Sociology, but university didn’t really suit me.  I’ve always read a lot around socio-politics which informs my choices, but really job specific training has been provided and I’ve learnt a lot on the job as well.

I know they are not qualifications as such but I have experienced homelessness and other adversities which I feel give me a greater understanding of other struggles, which in turn informs my empathy.
 
--Would you recommend this job to young people, if so why?
I definitely would, I love my job! Mental health support is a hugely rewarding job, but it is also one that comes with a lot of challenges. We are meeting individuals at what can be some of the most difficult points in their life and supporting people on their path to recovery can be tricky at times.

Visit the Blide Trust on:
 
Website:  https://www.blidetrust.org.uk/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/BlideTrust/