About Us
Who we are and why we exist
A Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation founded in 2014 — built by women, shaped by communities, driven by evidence.
A Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation founded in 2014 — built by women, shaped by communities, driven by evidence.
Vibrant Health Advocates is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation working to ensure that every woman and family in Scotland — regardless of where they live, what language they speak, or how much money they earn — can access accurate health information, compassionate advocacy, and practical support. We operate across urban neighbourhoods and rural communities alike, recognising that health inequality does not follow a single geography.
Our work is grounded in evidence and shaped by lived experience. Every programme we run, every resource we produce, and every advocacy session we deliver is informed both by the latest public health research and by the voices of the women and families we serve. We consult widely, listen carefully, and adapt continuously. That commitment to being genuinely responsive — rather than assuming we always know best — is what makes our support meaningful rather than merely well-intentioned.
We are a small, focused charity with a large reach. Our team of staff, volunteers, and specialist partners works efficiently across Scotland's diverse regions, using a blend of in-person services and digital tools to extend our reach without losing the human warmth that defines our approach. Partnerships with NHS boards, local authorities, and community anchor organisations allow us to punch well above our weight — connecting people to pathways they would otherwise have missed entirely.
Vibrant Health Advocates grew out of a recognition shared by a group of women in central Scotland: that accessing quality health information and being genuinely heard within the healthcare system was significantly harder if you were a woman, a carer, from a minority ethnic background, on a low income, or living outside a major city. The founding trustees — themselves a mix of healthcare professionals, community organisers, and people with personal experience of navigating complex health situations — came together in 2014 to build something practical rather than merely aspirational.
They started with a single peer-support group in Stirling and a modest grant from a local community foundation. Within two years, demand had spread to four local authorities and the organisation formally incorporated as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
Over the following decade, Vibrant Health Advocates grew steadily and deliberately — resisting the pressure to scale faster than the quality of our work could sustain. We deepened our expertise in women's health, maternal wellbeing, preventable chronic conditions, and health literacy. We trained cohorts of community health advocates, built a library of plain-language resources translated into eight languages, and established a reputation among NHS and third-sector partners as an organisation whose referrals you could trust and whose advocates genuinely changed outcomes.
Today we work in 38 communities across Scotland, and we remain as committed to the woman in a rural Aberdeenshire village as to the family in a Glasgow high-rise — because the postcode lottery in health affects both.
Vibrant Health Advocates exists to dismantle the barriers that prevent women and families across Scotland from accessing the health information, services, and support they deserve. We believe that health inequality is not inevitable — it is the product of systems, assumptions, and gaps that can be identified, challenged, and changed.
Through direct advocacy, community wellness programmes, and the patient work of health literacy, we help people understand their bodies, navigate complex health services, and advocate for themselves and their families with confidence. We work in partnership with communities, not on their behalf, because sustainable health improvement belongs to the people it most directly affects.
Every session we run, every guide we publish, and every appointment we attend alongside a woman facing a frightening diagnosis is a step toward a Scotland where good health is a reality for everyone — not a privilege for the few.
Vibrant Health Advocates is governed by a Board of Trustees who bring together expertise in healthcare, law, community development, and financial management. They give their time voluntarily, united by a genuine commitment to health equity in Scotland. They are supported by a small professional staff team and a wider network of trained community health advocates and specialist volunteers who deliver our programmes on the ground.
A practising GP with 20 years' experience in NHS Scotland, Fiona brings deep clinical expertise and a passion for reducing health inequality in rural and urban communities alike.
A chartered accountant with extensive third-sector experience, James ensures our finances are managed with the same care and rigour we bring to our direct work with communities.
A community development specialist with a background in equalities law, Priya's lived experience navigating Scotland's health system as a woman of colour shapes our approach to inclusive service design.
Whether you have professional skills to offer, lived experience to share, or simply a commitment to a fairer, healthier Scotland — there is a place for you here.
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