Louise facilitates living experience engagement groups across Scotland. This involves supporting people who are currently using substances to have their voice heard, influencing change within services and informing policy and practice. 

Key Responsibilities

– Engaging people with living experience of substance use to share their views and experiences of treatment and support at a local and national level

– Amplifying voices of people with living experience to help inform local and national policy

– Providing training and information to people with living experience to reduce drug related harms

– Gathering information on current and emerging drug trends

Background 

After graduating from SDF’s Addiction Worker Training Project, Louise has worked in several frontline services including drug treatment and criminal justice services before joining SDF as a peer researcher as part of the Older People with a Drug Problem Research in 2017 for the Scottish Government. Louise went on to become a development officer in the peer research team before joining the living experience team in 2024. Louise has a SVQ Level 2 in Health and Social Care.