Clair is the new face of the Inclusion Support Service

Bridges Project are pleased to announce that Clair Borland has become the latest addition to our team as a GIRFEC Support Worker. 

The recruitment marks the end of the hunt for a replacement for Susan Kerr, who left her role of delivering the Inclusion Support Service earlier this year.

Clair will now be responsible for the service, which provides bespoke and individually tailored support to young people who are not coping with mainstream school.

The new GIRFEC Support Worker brings with her a wealth of experience from the youth work sector. Prior to taking up her role at Bridges Project, Clair worked with No One Left Behind (NOLB) employability support for the Valley Park Community Centre in the South East of Edinburgh for nearly 10 years.

“My first job with the Community Centre was in admin as I had a wide range of temporary admin roles prior to a six-year career break to look after my children. My husband worked in the Armed Forces and we moved around a lot,” said Clair.

Her husband’s work took them across the UK; she has lived in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland before finally settling down in Penicuik.

Clair’s passion for youth work came through her admin role at Valley Park.

“I kept seeing the young people coming through the door, which made me want to work with them. I love helping young people and seeing the ‘end product’; when young people realise what they are capable of and are no longer looking back,” she said.

At Valley Park, Clair always did group work. It was the fact that the Inclusion Support Service gives her more opportunities to work with young people one-to-one that attracted her to Bridges Project.

“I thought it would be nice to follow a young person’s journey more closely and really dig in to the nitty-gritty of things. I am looking forward to being more involved and having more contact with the young people’s families and getting the full picture of their lives,” said Clair.

The Inclusion Support Service works with 17 young people throughout the year, enabling each young person to receive intense support. It offers a mix of one-to-one and group support alongside emotional wellbeing support and practical support to enable young people to get to where they want in life, such as training, further education and employment. The service also delivers several educational groups and social activities. It is funded by East Lothian Council until 2025.

Clair started her role at Bridges Project in mid-November and is still settling in. However, she has already experienced the charity’s unique identity.

“In addition to being very well organised, everyone at Bridges Project is so approachable and easy to talk to. Everyone shares the same core value of wanting to help people,” said the new GIRFEC Support Worker.