AVA Magazine - September 22

8 AVA | September 2022
Member Spotlight|
Networks of Wellbeing
Sharon Francis
AVA Development Officer,
Specialising in Supporting
Independent Living with
Sandra Brantingham, Chair
of NoW
The 15th of August 2022 marked the opening
of the new Networks of Wellbeing (NoW)
premises at 34 West Park Street in Huntly.
The journey has been a long and winding one
for NoW and the atmosphere was exhilarating
and positively happy, all the staff were bustling
around meeting all their guests. The challenging
work involved finding suitable premises and fast
forwarding to today at the opening ceremony,
and there was a real sense of relief for all those
involved from the board, the staff team and the
volunteers.
After such a difficult period due to Covid it was
lovely to see so many people in one place,
chatting and meeting with acquaintances they
had not seen for a while. Standing back and
watching, I thought, this is what it’s all about, how
our communities have missed the opportunity to
come together and connect. Whilst waiting for
the cutting of the ribbon, Robert, a piper, played
a few tunes whilst people continued to arrive,
making it feel very welcoming.
Networks of Wellbeing is an inclusive and
diverse organisation that lies at the heart of
Huntly and the surrounding area, providing
mental health and well-being support within
the community.Their ethos is based around the
Five Ways to Wellbeing and they offer various
opportunities and projects including: Chilling
Women, Counselling, Peer Support, Silver Singers,
Dementia Support, Mindfulness to name but a
few.
Sandra Brantingham, the chairperson for NoW
opened the ceremony with a speech which
included her journey with NoW, joining the
board in 2011 and becoming the chair in 2012.