Outreach Support

 Taking our support directly into homes and rural communities.

Reaching Across Rural and Island Communities 

Living in rural and island communities can bring additional challenges when accessing support, services and opportunities for connection.

Long travel distances, limited accessible transport, digital exclusion, caring responsibilities, health challenges, poverty and limited services all create additional barriers to support and connection.

At Snowdrop Argyll we work to reduce those barriers.

Our outreach work helps bring connection directly to people where they are.

“The Van Became An Art Studio”

One outreach participant loved art but could no longer easily access different places independently and meeting in the person’s home was not appropriate.
 During outreach visits, they and the outreach worker travel together across the island, stopping to create art from inside the van.

Sitting side by side, they talk, create and connect.

The experience is about much more than art.   It is about meeting people where they are and building trust, companionship and feeling seen, heard and better understood.

“I feel trusted and liberated when out with Claire in the van”

Kintyre Parkinson’s Group

In April 2022, Outreach Worker, Claire made it her mission to re-establish the Kintyre Parkinson’s Group after it had been running on and off for many years.

Through building connections, having conversations, and working in partnership with Parkinson’s UK and other local organisations, the group was successfully reformed in July 2022. Nine people attended the first meeting.

The group now meets on the first Wednesday of every month in Kintyre, with over 18 members regularly attending.

Today, the group has become a strong and supportive peer led community,  a voice for those who often feel unheard. It offers opportunities for learning, peer support, shared lived experiences, understanding and encouragement.

Members are clear about what they want:

not just a talking shop, but meaningful support, access to information, and the chance to support one another.

 

“We want everyone to have better support, to be heard and understood.”

The Gather Group

On Tuesdays, Outreach Worker Claire leads the Gather Group in Tarbert.

The group meets at the Gather Café from 10:30am to 12:00pm, offering a welcoming space where people can come together for gentle movement, connection, peer support, encouragement, fun, and friendship.

Each session begins with a 20-minute chair-based exercise routine led by Claire, using the Yes2Next programme.   Every 6–8 weeks, the group reflects together on how they are feeling and decides what they would like to focus on next.

After the exercise session, the group moves into the café space to enjoy a coffee and chat, an important time for building connections, sharing experiences, and simply enjoying being together.

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