First Minister visits The Bothy in Craigmillar

This week, First Minister Humza Yousaf and Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy, Christina McKelvie, visited The Bothy in Craigmillar which is a community hub for people affected by addiction. They met with community members and volunteers and spoke with partner organisations who have supported the project including Connecting Craigmillar.

Will and Angela from our Connecting Craigmillar team were there to discuss the power of community development activities and groups to address isolation, and the importance of connection in tackling drug and alcohol addiction. They also discussed the strength of peer working and the importance of supporting more individual and collective advocacy with people who have experience of addiction.

Community members and volunteers raised a number of issues and made suggestions, and we were delighted to hear that The Bothy is exactly the kind of grassroots community initiative that Scottish Government is keen to support because of the huge difference it makes.