TO TRANSFORM LIVES – AN OPTION FOR THE YOUNG

I first met Nicola Boland just over a year ago now. Life for the 19-year-old from Provanhill nearly turned out so different from what it is today. You see, she was literally saved from what her life could have ended up being. She freely tells the story that in her younger days she was “involved in a good few bits of gang violence,” around where she grew up in. Yet she has turned her life around.

Three years ago she was given a “wake-up” call that spurred her to change her life. That wake up call was the violent and tragic end to her best friend’s life in a brutal murder. She pulled herself away from that life and is now training to be a youth worker. Nicola’s involvement with St Paul’s Church in Provanhill and a local radio station run by the church’s youth club has transformed her life.

It is for Nicola and others like her that the Kirk continues tirelessly to provide support to the young, the disenfranchised and those on the edge of society.

And it is for that reason on Wednesday that the Church is launching a new strategy for helping the country’s most disadvantaged youngsters, “An Option for the Young.”

This is a clear sign of people across Scotland (because it couldn't be done without the support of more affluent parishes) combining to make a difference in the lives of some of our most disadvantaged young people - and in the process, showing that the Church is getting it's priorities right even in hard financial times.
We are here to make a difference in people’s lives and reach out with a hand. Why – because, that’s what we do and to give those that need it, the chance of a new and transformed life.