SRC’s approach to representation of the views and perspectives of lived experience is not to act as the voice of people in recovery but rather to support them to express their thoughts and articulate their experiences and perspectives. 

We take this approach in recognition of the vast knowledge and expertise that Recoverists in Scotland have accumulated over the last decade. As an organisation we support people in recovery and LEROs to empower themselves and to advance a human rights-based approach in the practice and thinking of all people and organisations concerned in offering support to those seeking relief from substance dependency and to ensure that lived experience is not only consulted with but included in all the decisions and actions of the drug and alcohol.

The newly employed SRC Rights in Recovery Development Officer and our established Lived Experience Development Officer will work with people of lived experience across the country to make the human rights-based approach real in peoples’ lives as a mechanism for saving and improving lives, improving systematic approaches to health and social care and improving how communities work with structures to build a more connected, caring and compassionate society in Scotland.