02 September 2026
Roberta McClung spent more than 20 years struggling with substance use before she found her way into recovery.
Now she manages WithYou's service in South Ayrshire, leading a team that helps people through exactly the kind of journey she once made herself.
She first came to WithYou as a client in 2016. Her initial reason for walking through the door was a practical one.
"I went there to get a bus pass, because they used to give them out," she says, smiling.
What followed was a slower, deeper change, meeting people in recovery, and getting involved with a fellowship.
Coming into recovery, I started learning again, and I felt part of a community for the first time," she recalls.
She went through a 12-step programme, which gave her the tools to deal with her life, and found real value in volunteering at recovery cafes.
"I'd never worked much until I came into recovery," she says. "Before that, I'd never had a proper job."
In 2017, only a few months into her own recovery, she got her first paid role as a lived-experience worker, helping people get tested for bloodborne viruses.
From there she moved into outreach work, spending years on the streets helping people with the basics, including food bank vouchers, food parcels, and help to find housing.
"If you're hungry and you've nowhere to live, you're vulnerable and at risk. You can't think about recovery," she says. "It was about giving people that basic support first."
She joined WithYou as a recovery worker in 2021, encouraged by a colleague, Johnny, who told her the organisation would help her through her SVQ.
Roberta became a team leader within a year, and was soon leading ROADS (Recovery Out of Alcohol and Drug Support), the team helping people prepare for and move through rehab.
When the service manager, Claire, was seconded into a new role, Roberta stepped up to cover the post, and later secured the job permanently.
"I absolutely love this job. I love my team, and the support I've had," she says.
WithYou has put her through multiple qualifications and other training. "We're a real mixture, people with lived experience, people who've been at uni, and some in their first job. We've all got the same values, and we work well together."
WithYou has been part of South Ayrshire's recovery community since 2013, and it shows.
Roberta's service brings together four strands, including a dedicated recovery team, ROADS, Family Support and Connect4Change, working from shared spaces that make it easy to bring the right people together around one person's care.
The team also has a regular presence at Compass, a drop-in hub in Ayr where several local services work under one roof, alongside partners including the NHS's START addiction service, justice services and Housing First.
"What's absolutely phenomenal about South Ayrshire is the partnership working," Roberta says. "The aim is to communicate with everybody involved in someone's care. We keep in touch regularly, and we always support other organisations.
"Ultimately, that's what's best for the client, when everyone's working closely together."
Making help easy to access matters to Roberta, and it's built into how the service works. People can get in touch by phone, drop in to the central Ayr base, or reach the team through digital channels, seven days a week.
Home visits and walk and talk sessions are on offer too, meeting people where they are rather than waiting for them to arrive at a fixed appointment, something Roberta understands better than most, given her own path started with something as simple as a bus pass.
Around 60% of the team have lived experience of their own, something she sees reflected in the culture every day.
She's a familiar face in the wider community too, from representing WithYou at the TRNSMT festival in Glasgow to attending the Recovery Olympics in Stirling.
For Roberta, the best part of the job is simple.
"Seeing people recover, seeing staff progress, and seeing their faces when a client walks in one day just to say thank you for starting them on their journey," she says.
That makes it all worthwhile. That's why when I get up in the morning, I love coming into work.
If you or someone you know needs support with drugs, alcohol or mental health, Roberta and the team are here to help. Find out more about our free, confidential support in South Ayrshire at wearewithyou.org.uk/local-hubs/south-ayrshire.
