Brittany Young is a volunteer with the Scottish Refugee Council
WHEN I moved to Glasgow in 2016, I thought that I had the whole world at my feet. Moving to another country at just 24 was unsurprisingly daunting, but mostly it was freeing and invigorating. I knew it would be a challenge to start over and re-establish myself, as I had already done once before. But I came from a background in the hospitality industry in NYC, working in restaurants from as young as 12. I was resilient, ambitious, and worthy … right?
I certainly thought so when I landed my first job in a local pub after living here for just over a year, and job-seeking for six months. But I had unknowingly landed myself within a toxic and unsupportive work environment. The communication I received from my manager was wholly deconstructive, negative, and the goalposts were being moved daily. Still eager to prove something, I promised both myself and my husband that I wouldn’t quit this job, no matter how difficult it became. After just one month I was fired and consequently left reeling. I felt utterly confused and lost, but above all, I was mentally exhausted from jumping through hoops.
Moving from that spring into summer, I slid ever so gradually into deep social anxiety which wrecked my performance in subsequent interviews and destroyed my desire to even go outside and interact with people in my community. My one saving grace was my good friend Zara, who offered me part-time PA work during this time. She picked me up, got me out of the house, and eventually referred me to ProjectScotland. It was Christmastime when I submitted my details to them, and by the end of January I had my volunteer placement in reception at the Scottish Refugee Council (SRC).
Both my experience with Project Scotland and working at the Scottish Refugee Council has been completely life-changing for me. For the past three months I have been surrounded by a refreshingly welcoming, supportive, and empowering team of colleagues. My work can at times, of course, be challenging, but it is also immensely rewarding and clarifying. Volunteering with SRC has also helped me to realise what career path I want to go down in life from here on, and I now know I want to stay at least for the foreseeable future in the charity sector. For the first time in a long time, I have the agency over my own future back in my hands, and professional career on the horizon. I have options and open doors again, versus dark and obscure corridors.
For me, volunteering is healing. I fully believe we cannot keep our peace with the world outside if we aren’t keeping the peace within ourselves. Volunteering has been the catalyst where I can accomplish both at once.
I’ve already signed up to volunteer for SRC as a photographer for the upcoming Refugee Festival Scotland this June, and I have no intentions of ever fully stopping if I can help it – even when I move into my first salaried role.
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