A youth development worker spoke about the challenges faced by young people in a special address to Scottish Parliament.
Antoni Pia, of youth charity Tullochan, was invited to speak to members during Time for Reflection.
The 25-year-old joined remotely as Members of the Scottish Parliament gathered in the chamber to hear his contribution after he was nominated by Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie.
Antoni said: “I didn’t expect to be doing something like this. My mum was probably the person who was most proud.
“I decided to talk about the organisation and mental health as that has been one of the big issues.
“During the pandemic, we just had to change the approach of how we engage with young people.
“We were able to do Zoom or make phone calls. We made sure we were still in touch with young people who needed that support.”
Antoni became involved with Tullochan as a young person and attended at the charity’s former centre in Haldane. He was with them until leaving school and, five and a half years ago, he secured a job with the charity.
He told how one of his co-workers stopped a session to make sure people at Tullochan could listen in as he addressed Parliament.
Tullochan’s chief executive officer Richie Gallacher said: “We appreciate the opportunity provided to us through Jackie’s nomination and it was great to see Antoni deliver his speech to the chamber. The whole team are incredibly proud of Antoni.”
MSP Jackie Baillie said: “Antoni’s address was excellent as he spoke about the challenges young people face today.
“It was particularly poignant that he mentioned the impact the pandemic has had on the mental health of young people as it is something he has seen first-hand and tried to address through his own work.
“He is a fantastic ambassador not only for the charity but for the amazing young people who live and work in my
constituency.”
