After graduating with a degree in Events Management and Marketing, I spent my 20s doing lots of different things - from working in tourism, sales and marketing to a short stint working freelance in TV production, including Outlander. I also gained experience in the third sector when working for a youth sailing charity and eventually decided the charity sector suited me best in terms of wanting to give back.
I’d heard of LGBT Youth Scotland and it really resonated with me. The work they do means a lot to me because growing up as a teenager, I wished there had been something like LGBT Youth Scotland to help me get through my coming out. Figuring out who you are as a young person is confusing enough in itself, but if you don't have the role models and community who accept you and love you for who you are, it can be especially hard. I grew up in a Baptist church in Southern Germany and falling in love with a girl for the first time at the tender age of 14 was exciting but also conflicting and confusing. We were told it was a sin and we needed to be "fixed". It was particularly tough not having anyone to talk to at the time and I was lucky to have got through it.
A few years later, I went to a youth work camp in Belgium where I met a girl who was doing a gap year there from Scotland. We fell in love and on a quest for safety and an instinct for survival, I moved to Glasgow to be with her shortly after turning 19. Everyone I met in Glasgow was so warm, welcoming and so open-minded. I could be out and gay and happy. It really felt like coming home. I fell in love with the city - and Scotland. People really do make Glasgow and almost 16 years on, I am still here and loving it.
Although Scotland is largely open-minded, LGBT+ young people still have to face discrimination, hate and abuse on the grounds of being LGBT+. LGBT Young Scotland supports these young people during their formative years and the impact of their work is literally lifesaving. Our biggest goal at LGBT Youth Scotland is to make sure Scotland is the best place possible for LGBTI young people to grow up in. Our bread and butter is our youth work which we do by running over 30 youth groups and one-to-one support across the country - in person and online. We also have our digital project which aims to reach young people in more rural places, as well as young people who maybe aren’t confident enough yet to join a group in person.
As well as our youth groups, we aim for wider systemic change by giving young people a platform to amplify their voices, speak to decision-makers and change policy at a government level. For example, our Youth Commission on Trans Rights group is working hard to influence the GRA (Gender Recognition Act) Reform at the moment.
We also do lots of research like the Life in Scotland for LGBT Young People report which is the biggest piece of research of its kind in the country. It comes out every five years - we’re just about to release the newest report later this month.
My job is really about connecting with individuals, companies and community groups to help grow support and raise funds. I do a lot of different campaigns and project work depending where we are in the year, like our annual Purple Friday fundraising day during LGBT History Month which is also co-ordinated and run by the charity. I also get to be really creative with video, photography and design work. It’s a real colourful mix of things.
Knowing that what I do every day - small things or big things - will help make the lives of young people better keeps me motivated. Because of my own personal experience, it’s really good for me to know that there is support available for young people that will help them realise their full potential. We want to make sure that all LGBTI young people in Scotland know that they are loved and supported and that there is a safe space for them here. That’s what makes me get up every morning.
LGBT Youth Scotland will be launching their Pride Appeal this June. For more information on the work they do, visit: https://lgbtyouth.org.uk
