Since starting my final university social work placement with MCFB, every day has been different; but even at that, to turn up to the office and be told that there’s a bike waiting for you is quite something…

My name is Scott and I’ve been working at MCFB for the past five months on the final placement of my social work degree. In my first week at MCFB, I had the pleasure of meeting a young Asian male who suffers from mental health challenges and was advised that I’d be working with him on a weekly basis to help support him with the challenges he faces.

1 in 4 people in the UK suffer from a mental health problem each year (Mind UK) and the Scottish Government has made it a key priority to work on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people, with a key focus on intervention and prevention. However, mental health services for children and young people in Scotland are extremely stretched and many children, young people and their families struggle to get the support they need. The aim of my work in this instance was not only to provide emotional support, but to help him in a practical and positive way to deal with the challenges he faces.

During some of our early conversations he told me about his passion for bikes and how cycling was something he used to do in his home country before he moved to Scotland. He also explained to me how much it helped alleviate the stress he was under. With this in mind, I set myself the challenge to source a bike for him. Perhaps not under the traditional realms of social work per se, but this was something where I felt I could contribute in my own personal way. A quick chat with Philippa, the MCFB Office and Communications Manager, led to her helpfully providing me the information of an organisation called Bikes for Refugees who in turn informed me of a local council run scheme called Brake the Cycle. This scheme offers free, reconditioned bikes to the community, particularly youth groups and third sector organisations like MCFB. A short email exchange later I received confirmation and fast forward a month to where I got the all-important phone call from a colleague - “Scott, there’s a bike waiting here for you in reception”.

I was delighted that this had been turned around so quickly and couldn’t wait to tell him the news but there were a couple of things that required fixing first. MCFB CEO Steve, a keen cyclist himself, told me about Bikecraft, a local shop in Ocean Terminal, that should be able to help. Bikecraft were able to carry out a full service of the bike and undertake any repairs that were required (including the repositioning of the handlebars which were somehow the wrong way round!); all for a nominal fee. Huge thanks to Ryan and Chris who were instrumental in turning this work around, it’s really heartening to hear that there are still some community focussed businesses out there!

“With the help of Scott and MCFB, I have learned to pay more attention to my own needs instead of trying to please other people first”

This was a real team effort, and by working together across organisations we’ve been able to reach a common goal; ultimately supporting someone to achieve positive outcomes in their life. Social workers aren’t always perceived positively by the public, but to be able to hand over the bike and see the positive impact that this will have on someone’s life made it all worthwhile. I may only just be about to begin my social work career, but this experience is certainly one I’ll take with me in the future.

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Scott Halliday was on placement at MCFB during summer/autumn 2019 from The University of Stirling