Meet Emma
“I wasn’t a very confident child before I joined COVEY. If it wasn’t for COVEY, I think I’d be at a loss. I wouldn’t know where I was going. They’ve given me direction.”
Emma was supported by COVEY from the age of 8 to 16. With a smile, she reflects on her journey, remembering outings with her Befriender to the Chocolate Factory in Glasgow and Rural Life Museum.
However, there is one moment that Emma will never forget; the day her COVEY Befriender ignited her passion for Performing Arts, a moment that has come to shape so much of her adult life.
“My befriender did dance classes and asked me if I’d like to get involved one day. She thought it might help me with my confidence. Then it became a weekly thing where we danced all the time because I absolutely loved it!”
This moment changed the trajectory of Emma’s life. Having just achieved her HND in Musical Theatre, she is now going into her final year at Edinburgh College working towards her BA (Hons) degree in Drama. As well as studying, Emma teaches Musical Theatre to children and young people. These achievements are undoubtedly a result of Emma’s hard work and motivation. However, she attributes the beginning of this success to the support she received growing up.
“I wasn’t a very confident child before I joined COVEY. If it wasn’t for COVEY, I think I’d be at a loss. I wouldn’t know where I was going. They’ve given me direction, and a whole load of life skills as well.”
At the age of 14, Emma lost her Dad very suddenly. Although Emma had been supported by COVEY for many years, it was at this time that COVEY’s support proved invaluable to her.
“My befriender just went above and beyond to help. She took me on an extra outing that week and came to support me at my Dad’s funeral. She never left my side and it really helped me. She basically became like part of my family. Her support gave me someone else to talk to. Obviously, I could talk to my Mum, but it was hard for her too.”
Emma remembers the way COVEY extended support to her whole family, responding to the unexpected circumstances they all found themselves in.
“I honestly don’t know of any other charities that do what COVEY does. They not only supported me, but also my three brothers and my Mum. They’d come out and visit Mum just to make sure she was doing okay. They offered her a lot of support and she knew they were always at the end of the phone if she needed them. They’ve been hands-on with helping our family, but not only that, they supported us all in different ways. My brother is Autistic, so he went to the ANGELS group, while I was part of the Befriending Project. COVEY has literally helped my full family.”
Emma is truly inspiring. Whilst she has evidently been through a lot in her life, she chooses to take strength from this adversity.
“I think my early experiences in life have made me stronger today. When I lost my Dad, I grew up really quickly. Going through that made me realise I have a resilience against things happening. I feel empowered by my experiences because I’m able to say, ‘I’ve been through a tough time, and I’ve come through it’. I’m probably now the strongest I have ever been.”
With this strength and nurturing approach, Emma channels what she has learned from her own experiences into helping children and young people overcome their difficulties.
“Sometimes when something difficult happens, children go in on themselves. They can go from being so confident to so quiet and distant. I feel like my experiences and the support I received from COVEY have helped me understand how to help these children.”
Without COVEY’s support, Emma believes her life would be very different. The selflessness of her Befriender, and COVEY’s efforts to understand and respond to her as an individual, truly reflect in the positive outcomes Emma is now experiencing.
“There’s people like me out there who would be lost without COVEY, so I would encourage anyone who is thinking about volunteering to just go for it and give it a try. The difference that you can make to someone’s life is real, you just need to hear our stories.”