OUR SERVICES

Emily who is now 20 years old, has struggled with anorexia for most of her teenage years, spending long periods of time in hospital, before getting help and support from VSA’s residential St Aubins Service. Emily said: “Pretty much all the way through my teenage years I struggled with the disorder and I was in and out of hospital a lot. It ended up becoming a cycle, because I would be in hospital for a few months then go home and although my parents tried hard they couldn’t really cope. It got worse and worse and I ended up being in hospital for two years before we found out about St Aubin’s. When I first went things were really tough but the staff helped me so much. It was all about what helped me and them fitting in around that. Them supporting me made me realise I needed to get better. They trusted me and were there for me when I needed them.” Emily, who enjoys gymnastics and is a volunteer gymnastics coach, is now set to realise her lifelong ambition of studying physiotherapy when she begins classes at Robert Gordon University (RGU) after the summer. She said: “This has been the goal for a long time. I have had the chance to go in the past but I have always been too unwell. There was always something stopping me but now I am finally going to be able to do it. It’s been my dream for such a large part of my life and I’m so excited about it. “That’s something else the staff at VSA have helped me with when I needed them. They have encouraged me and helped me to get well enough to be in a position where I can go to university and do things other young people do. “I am so grateful for the support I’ve had from St Aubin’s. Because of them I am able to go and live a normal life and enjoy it.

It is with thanks to the support VSA receives financially and non-financially that we have the opportunity to give vulnerable people the skills, opportunities, experiences and environments that they need to realise their dreams and lead more independent and integrated lives. We believe that no other charity is better placed to help our community and we will continue to develop and evolve our services to meet the support needs of the people who need and use our services; ensuring we provide the best of care so that people can live the best of lives.