Julie MacDonald

My work with RLP started during the first lockdown where I volunteered, along with my wife for the Crafty Kids Initiative which entailed delivering boxes out in the community.  It was such a great boost for me whilst I was on furlough, and I was honoured to be part of such an amazing project!

After volunteering and spending time with Shumela and the other staff at RLP this new way of thinking and working was beginning to change not only how I engaged myself within RLP but also how I interacted with people in my personal life. It was all cemented after receiving Trauma Informed Practice Training Level 1&2 where I really started to understand the meaning of being ‘trauma informed’ and the prevalence of trauma in Scotland. I describe it to people as simply, making me a better human. I grew up in Clacks and have been lucky enough to travel and work in many places across the world and to find myself back in the community that I grew up in doing the work that we do is a real honour.

My involvement with RLP continued through to a new part time role as a Digital Assistant which I thoroughly enjoyed. Collaborating with the team to create various videos, animations and offer general tech support was both rewarding and exciting. My role then changed again, and I stepped into a Business Development Manager position.

Day to day you will find me either buzzing about RLP HQ to find someone to chat to whilst eating cake or a biscuit or squirreling away at my desk organising trauma training sessions, building new connections, or designing a new leaflet or animation. I love working with our amazing team who never fail to make me smile or laugh! They are an incredible and dedicated bunch who work their absolute socks off and they are (in my humble opinion) some of the best humans you’ll ever meet. No day is ever the same and there is never a dull moment at RLP HQ – I wouldn’t want it any other way!