A number of our participants suffer from poor mental health and can sometimes find it difficult to leave their homes. One such older person had not left their house for a number of months, and on doing so, their first outing was to attend one of our adult sessions based in Centre81 with carer support.

Through CAOS visual art sessions, this quiet, shy, nervous woman has blossomed into a sociable and jovial member of the group who fully participates in all activities with a 'can-do' attitude; willing to give anything a go and often surprising herself with her hidden artistic abilities!

The improvement in self esteem and confidence demonstrated by this lady is testament to the benefits participation in the arts can bring!

The young person agreed and in conversation with the member of CAOS staff told them of how much he enjoyed art based activities as he felt he was "good at it"" and felt on more on a level par with his classmates as they would ask him for assistance/opinion instead of the other way round. This became more and more evident over the course of the block and there was a marked improvement in the young person's interaction with his peers and his confidence in communicating with them.

To date, this young person has continued to show an interest in the arts and be involved with CAOS.

The improvement in self esteem and confidence demonstrated by this lady is testament to the benefits participation in the arts can bring!

CAOS first came into contact with this local parent when he came to watch his oldest son in a dance sharing event held in April 2009. From there, he took a keen interest in the project and brought his other children to Spring break 2009 activities. As CAOS got to know him and his family, it emerged that he had completed an HND in Working with Communities and had gained youth work experience through working and volunteering with other West Dunbartonshire organisations. He was interested in becoming more involved with CAOS and was applying to study Music at college. He came to the family workshops that we had over the summer and was a fantastic role model, not only to his own children but to other children and parents in the group.

CAOS decided to offer him the opportunity to lead his own youth music project as part of the Clyde Art programme that started in January 2010, and on accepting the challenge, he developed a fantastic plan for the workshops. It was great to see a local person come full circle, as it is one of CAOS's main aims to involve community members as much as we can in running the project.

This man would like a career in music and the opportunity to work with CAOS has helped him not only develop his skills, but also gain an immense amount of relevant experience to enable him to embark upon the vocation of his dreams. He is an inspiration to the local community and proof that volunteering can lead to job opportunities as well as raise self esteem and develop skills, whist being an extremely rewarding experience.