Student Placement: Annie D

My student placement at Reach Advocacy has been extremely valuable. Working through the Human Rights and Health Inequalities Awareness Workshop has deepened my understanding of human rights frameworks in general and specifically in relation to individuals with alcohol and substance use disorders. 

An example of this is researching the Medication Assisted treatment Standards and how these standards are received by those working within the drug and mental health sector, the workshops seek to close the gap between national policy frameworks and everyday application and practice. 

The opportunity to shadow workshops and the discussions of attendees working within these sectors has further deepened my understanding of these policies and human rights frameworks. Additionally, I was able to present the Human Rights legislation at these workshops, this encouraged me to develop my public speaking skills which I hope to apply to my career in advocacy in the futre.

I was able to celebrate the publication of ‘Bridging the Gap with Dignity for Reach Advocacy’, by LLM student Johneil Campbell. Reading this research and listening to Johneil explain it further enabled me to consider dignity as a practical and communication tool used to assist Scotland’s human rights implementation gap in the mental health and substance use fields. I was able to explore dignity as not just a moral concept but as a core element of human rights.

Throughout the placement I have visited outreach support services for young people with alcohol and substance use such as ‘The GIVIT’. This has increased my awareness of the practical application of human rights in Scotland and also advocacy amongst people struggling with alcohol and substance use.

Overall, I have learnt so much from Reach Advocacy during my placement. I thoroughly recommend this student placement to other students with an interest and passion for human rights and advocacy.

Annie is currently working towards a Diploma in Law at Glasgow University.