Danielle's Story

I was having a difficult time at school and at home. I wasn’t happy and couldn’t imagine it getting better.

Eventually, it was one of my teachers who noticed something was going on and that’s when Aberlour started helping me, offering support.

My relationship with my mum was really difficult and causing a lot of problems in my family and Aberlour helped with that. We were constantly at each other’s throats, arguing all the time and were just trapped in a cycle of fighting and shouting.

Our relationship is so much better now and that just wouldn’t have happened without my support workers. Gradually, I started to see where my mum was coming from, the other point of view. 

They never took sides though, just helped us see there were valid points on both sides. My supporter worker would never suggest I was wrong to feel the way I did. They helped give me a little space, time to breathe away from my mum.

They would visit, or take me for something to eat or a wee drive, just a change of scene, making sure I was okay. They would mostly just talk about what was going on with me, how things were. They would talk to my mum and just help us talk to see the other side and work things out.

They let me talk and to have someone actually listening to me made the difference. It felt like someone was in my corner. 

Aberlour encouraged me to think about where I was going and how to get there, kind of push me along. It felt like a new start.

Danielle*

*Name changed.

This article was written as part of the 'We are family' special edition supplement with the Sunday Post.