Hi there my name is Stephen and I’ve been a TACT Connect Advisor for almost a year and in that time I have been involved in quite a lot of what Connect has to offer.

My role as an Advisor can cover a lot of things, but one of the main things is the Tuesday Meet Up, which Advisors take turns to host. For this we tend to come up with a Kahoot! Or prepare a game from JackBox to play as well as come up with other topics of conversation to engage with the members of TACT Connect, I always try to make it as interesting and as engaging as possible.

I also attend other meet-ups such as the Young Voices Participation Events and we also have a Breakfast Club where the TACT Connect Team catch up with each other once a month to talk about things such as the Connected magazine which in itself is pretty fun to attend.

The role varies in opportunities, with some Advisors sitting on interview panels and assisting in picking the best candidates for the jobs, co-creating parts of our members only Connect Hub, completing Vlogs, writing for the Connected magazine as well as possibly even hosting their own groups.

I’ve had a mixture of busy and quiet weeks while with TACT Connect but I enjoy it all the same. One of my busiest weeks was conducting interviews for our new Peer Mentor Project Worker which had spanned over two days. I invested time before to read applications, and then sat on the interview panel, as well as reflecting with Andy Pallas (Executive Director of Specialist Services) and Nicola (our TACT Connect Co-Ordinator). This was one of my favourite experiences as an Advisor.  On my quietest week I had just the Tuesday Meet-up and I had already prepared a Kahoot!! way in advance of the meet-up so I didn’t really need to prepare besides showing up and facilitating.

Personally, I tend to do a lot of things outside of Connect at the minute, so I don’t go to all of the events on offer.  Even though this is the case the offer is still there for me to go to TACT Connect events such as Singo, Relaxing and Crafting, Murder Mystery Events and much more which I can assure you are 100 percent worth the time to take part in!

I know that a lot of members of TACT Connect may be put off a possible Advisor role as they have education or work commitments but it’s really manageable to hold an Advisor position and you can vary in what responsibilities you take on in the scheme. Also, TACT Connect Advisors all work different hours, which work around their commitments – which is really helpful!

Everyone is understanding if you cannot make a meet-up. The support you are given from Connect in general as an Advisor is incredible with Nicola checking in, always making sure you’re okay (a bit like a mother figure if I do say) genuinely in Connect you’re definitely looked after. An effort is always made to ensure you are okay especially when life doesn’t go to plan there is always someone there to reach out and ensure you’re okay

My personal favourite thing about being an Advisor and a part of TACT Connect in general is being part of something bigger, almost like a family with everyone being welcoming. I’ve been treated and welcomed with open arms since I’ve joined and I just feel a part of something that’s great in itself and is only going to get better.

I would urge anyone who wants to try and go for a TACT Connect Advisor role as it’s the best thing I think I’ve done. If you are interested or just want to have a chat with someone about it you can email [email protected]