By My Side
By My Side
By My Side is a digital one stop shop for harm reduction, sexual health and mental health support.
Person centred support
It is a space that holds the person at the centre and gives them access to support they need, when they need it, in the hope that it will support them to stay safe and live well.
Flexible support: what the person needs, when they need it
Using digital in this way offers people choice and flexibility around how they can access information, advice and support that feels right for them. We recognise that people who use drugs may be reluctant to access services due to a history of stigma, discrimination and system failure.
By My Side ensures that if the person using the app doesn’t feel ready or able to access an in-person service, they can still access a range of videos, e-learning sessions, webinars, written resources and podcasts that may help to prevent drug-related harm and keep them informed on a range of often interrelated topics from mental health, sexual health and domestic violence.
A Digital Approach To Harm Reduction
The development of our By My Side app has been a significant and rewarding result of Simon Community Scotland’s double award winning project, ‘A Digital Approach to Harm Reduction’.
This aimed to tackle the difficulties that women face in accessing the support that they need, when they need it and is rooted in the ethos of harm reduction, digital inclusion through our Get Connected Model, and taking a gendered approach to ensure women access support that is right for them. We have proactively adopted a co-production approach in the development of this project. By creating a Safe Space for women to share their expertise and their experiences, we brought together an amazing community and encouraged the opportunity to be a part of meaningful change for our wider community of other women.
Digital Approach to Harm Reduction Report
Our A Digital Approach to Harm Reduction report outlines the development of the project, the outcomes that we’ve seen, and shares the stories of women that we have worked alongside in this project. The report captures our journey so far from that first conversation women had with us, to the connections made through this project and the meaningful impact we’ve had. To finally, our next steps going forward to ensure that we continue learning, growing and getting support right for women.
