Our Governance & Community Approach
At A Positive Start CIC, we believe that community work is strongest when it is collaborative, transparent, inclusive and grounded in lived experience.
Alongside our ongoing counselling, education, training and wellbeing services, we regularly develop and deliver a range of funded and community-led projects designed to meet emerging needs within the community.
These projects have included initiatives such as Reconnect & Regulate, Self Discovery for Recovery, Cycling for Mental Health & Wellbeing, and lived experience-informed projects such as SPACES (Separated Parent And Child Emotional Support) and Trauma Informed TRUST with Lived Experience Insight. Our work also includes early intervention emotional wellbeing programmes, psychoeducation workshops, trauma-informed training, safeguarding education, and community-based support initiatives focused on safety, connection, recovery and relational wellbeing.
As a Community Interest Company, we value the voices of the people connected to our work. Wherever possible, we actively involve stakeholders, volunteers, practitioners, people with lived experience, and project contributors in the development and oversight of projects and services.
For this reason, individuals involved in specific funded or lived experience projects may occasionally be invited to join the Board of Directors for the duration of that project. This is not compulsory; rather, it is offered as an opportunity for those directly connected to the work to have a meaningful voice in discussions, accountability, transparency and decision-making within the organisation.
When a funded project naturally comes to an end, or when an individual is no longer actively involved in that area of work, they may then choose to step down from the Board. This reflects the evolving and collaborative nature of community project work and should not be interpreted as organisational instability or workforce turnover.
Our core leadership team has remained stable since the organisation was established, providing ongoing governance, accountability and long-term vision for the organisation and the communities we support.
Core Directors
- Deborah Crozier – Founding Director
- Andrew Crozier – Director & Volunteer
- Christine Kyle – Director & Volunteer
- Sharon Paxton – Director & Volunteer
- Kate Wilson – Director & Volunteer
Following the retirement of our long-standing Director, Liz Sneddon, we were grateful to welcome Kate Wilson to the Board as Director & Volunteer, continuing our shared commitment to community wellbeing and compassionate, trauma-informed support.
We are also delighted to welcome Katie Woodcock, who is due to join our Core Directors in June 2026 following our move to Harestanes. We deeply value the time, care, experience and community spirit that our Directors and Volunteers bring to the organisation and its ongoing growth.
Alongside our core Directors, additional stakeholders, volunteers, practitioners and lived experience contributors may occasionally join the Board during the lifespan of specific funded or community-led projects, helping to ensure transparency, inclusion and community voice within our work.
As a Community Interest Company, our Directors contribute to the organisation with a strong shared commitment to community wellbeing, emotional safety, trauma-informed practice, and creating meaningful, accessible support within the Scottish Borders and beyond.