Turning LIVES AROUND

Pauline Buchan's life was changed for the better by a special organisation. Now, she's joined them to do the same for other vulnerable families

Having dropped out of school with no qualifications at the age of 15, then falling pregnant at 21, Pauline Buchan found herself alone and terrified - until a health visitor introduced her to The Family Cottage Centre in Fife. As a scared single mum, it took her weeks to even to enter the place. She certainly never imagined that she would end up working there, helping hundreds of other vulnerable families - or being the brainchild behind one of its most successful schemes: The Big Hoose Project.

'My relationship with my parents broke down when I was 13 and I became a looked-after child,' Pauline, 48, from Kirkcaldy, remembers. 'I dropped out of school, got into a bad relationship and fell pregnant.' 

After giving birth, rather than the all-encompassing rush of love, all Pauline felt was fear. She had no idea how she was going to raise her child with no support system.

Suffering from postnatal depression, when her daughter was three months old, her health visitor recommended she visit The Family Cottage Centre, a community group for young children and their families. It had been set up in 1987 by a group of local mums as a means of supporting one another.

'It was daunting; it felt like they were saying I was a bad mother. In fact, I barely made it through the door the first day before rushing home, Pauline recalls.

Yet, when she finally plucked up the courage to stay, it was the best thing she could have done. She joined a weekly coffee morning with other young parents in a similar situation. Knowing that she wasn't alone slowly built Pauline's confidence.