09 October 2026
Linda Percy sits in the same WithYou office in Ayr where she once came as a client.
Back then, in 2021, she'd never heard of recovery services.
She'd just been referred by her community mental health nurse, going through a difficult time with no idea that support like this existed on her doorstep.
You don't need me,” the nurse told her. “What you need is WithYou.
That referral led Linda to a key worker who'd later become instrumental in her recovery.
“The key worker I was given had lived experience, and he spoke to me in a way I could connect with,” she recalls. “He didn't hide the fact he'd lived it too, and that really helped me trust him.”
That trust became the foundation for everything that followed.
Linda started working through the recovery pathway, taking courses through South Ayrshire's Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP), including Steps to Excellence and a peer programme at Ayr College. She began volunteering and, slowly, her confidence grew.
“I started engaging with all the other recovery services in Ayrshire," she says. “That's when I stopped needing support from WithYou myself.”
Roberta, service manager at WithYou in South Ayrshire, encouraged Linda to apply for jobs in the sector to build her confidence.
Eventually, she took on a placement at WithYou in the same office where she'd once been a client. Roberta and the wider team showed her the ropes.
“I had lived experience, but I'd never really held down a job,” Linda says. “They showed me the way things work, and I learned and grew.”
After almost a year on placement, Linda joined ROADS, the Recovery Out of Alcohol and Drug Support team, as a peer recovery worker employed by RecoveryAyr.
“I was overwhelmed,” she remembers. "Somebody had faith in me."
She's still based in WithYou's Ayr office, working alongside the same team who supported her own recovery.
It's a set-up that reflects something WithYou is proud of, real partnership working, where lived experience and long-standing local knowledge sit side by side.
Linda’s days vary. Some mornings she's preparing someone for their six-week pre-rehab support, talking through what to expect and offering a bit of anxiety management on the drive to an assessment.
On other days she's checking in with someone partway through their residential stay, or helping someone settle back home and build a wider support network.
"Every day is different," she says. "But it's always person-centred."
What keeps her coming back is simple.
“I love every aspect of my work. I love working with people, and I love working with my colleagues. I learn from them, and I learn from my clients too.”
The impact hasn't stayed at work. Linda says her recovery, and the stability that's come from her job, has changed things at home too.
"My partner's been able to reduce her hours at work," she says. "She doesn't need to worry the way she used to."
The office itself carries reminders of what the work is about.
Around Recovery Month, Johnny, one of Linda's colleagues, helps decorate it in purple. It's a small touch, but it says something bigger, this is a place built around hope, not judgement.
For Linda, the message she wants to pass on is straightforward.
There is a way forward. I just try to be an inspiration and do the best I can. That's all anyone can do.
If you're based in South Ayrshire and you'd like to find out more about our free, confidential support, visit wearewithyou.org.uk/local-hubs/south-ayrshire
