East Ayrshire Recovery Service has its base in the centre of Kilmarnock and the service also provides a large part of its delivery to the rural corners of East Ayrshire. 

East Ayrshire Recovery Service provide free and confidential drug and alcohol support across East Ayrshire including: 

• Drop-in advice and information 

• Telephone advice and information 

• Assessments 

• One-to-one support 

• Group based support 

• Relapse prevention 

• Recovery activities 

• Signposting to other services

Addaction provide support and encouragement to help people recover from problematic drug and alcohol use. Addaction provide free and confidential one to one support, group work, mutual aid, relapse prevention, drug and alcohol advice and specialist support for alcohol related brain damage.

Advocacy is about helping people speak up for what is important to them in all aspects of their life. It can be carried out by anyone a person wants to speak up for or help them speak up from themselves. This could be a friend, family member or support worker. 

Aims Advocacy work with people from North Ayrshire over the age of 16 years old who require independent advocacy and who are eligible to receive a community care service. This includes people who experience mental ill health or disabilities. The service offers advocacy support in the community as well as hospital settings and also provides independent advocacy for patients of Ayr Clinic. 

Aims Advocacy can provide independent advocacy services for other groups or industries on a contract basis. Advocates work with people on one to one basis as well as in group settings.

Ayr Stroke Club is open to anyone in South Ayrshire who has had a stroke. The group meets every Thursday from 1.00pm to 3.00pm in Prestwick Community Centre, Caerlaverock Road, Prestwick. 

Not everyone who has had a stroke feels that they need to be in a group setting, but for those that do, the group offers an opportunity to meet with people who are or have experienced the difficulties involved in the sometimes long process of recovering after a stroke. Being able to talk to other people who know how you are feeling, or you can see have made a good recovery after their stroke, can help with the process of recovery. 

As well as the usual games, word searches and quizzes there are computers in the group for those who wish to participate. From time to time the group has people along to either entertain or to inform the group. They also go on outings to places of interest.

Ayrshire Council on Alcohol offers a free one-to-one confidential service to individuals who are concerned about their drinking. Counsellors trained to professional standards work with people whether they wish to abstain from alcohol or reduce their drinking to less harmful levels. 

A family service is also available to those whose lives are affected by someone else's drinking. 

The service is run from accessible venues in South and East Ayrshire. 

Ayrshire Council on Alcohol offer the following services: 

• Confidential one-to-one counselling 

• Telephone counselling 

• Evening appointments 

• A supportive and understanding environment 

• Family/ Carer support 

• Older people's service 

• Outreach service throughout South and East Ayrshire 

• Access to other agencies

Ayrshire Independent Living network (AILN) provide free advice and information on Self Directed Supported (SDS) to the people of Ayrshire. 

AILN initially grew from a group of disabled people who wanted to see a change in the way that community care services were offered. The management board have personal experiences of Self Directed Support, support services or have worked or volunteered in similar settings. 

The three Ayrshire councils jointly fund the SDS support and information service.

The B.I.G group is a weekly social and info group for people suffering from any form of brain injury either traumatic or acquired. Meeting every Wednesday afternoon 12:30 -14:30.

The B.I.G group is a weekly social and info group for people suffering from any form of brain injury either traumatic or acquired. 

Meeting every Wednesday afternoon 12:30 -14:30.

Circles Advocacy helps people aged 16 or over who live in South Ayrshire to understand their rights, get the right information to help them make informed choices, raise issues they are worried about and safeguard people in situations where they are vulnerable. Circles Advocacy provide advocacy to vulnerable people in South Ayrshire whose circumstances include, but are not restricted to, mental health issues, learning disability, acquired brain injury, dementia, autistic spectrum disorder and chronic illness and who are unable to safeguard their own well-being, rights, care or other interests. 

Advocacy is about empowering individuals to express their views, needs and decisions and where appropriate, it involves speaking on behalf of individuals who are unable to do so for themselves. In doing so, we hope to help protect and safeguard the rights and interest of those who are vulnerable or discriminated against, and ensure that their rights and opinions are fully considered.

Combat Stress is the leading Veteransí mental health charity in the UK providing treatment for ex-Service personnel suffering with mental ill-health including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression. 

In some cases, veterans may be offered a short period of treatment at Hollybush House,a residential centre in Ayrshire. The length of stay will vary from two days to six weeks, depending on the treatment package that Combat Stress agrees with the individual. 

The warm and friendly atmosphere at the centre allows veterans to feel at home, amongst other Veterans whose experiences may be similar to their own. 

The centre has a team of dedicated professionals (trained in several different and complementary treatment and care methods), who work together to provide treatment and care.

Cortex Physiotherapy provides specialised neurological and advanced musculoskeletal (MSK) rehabilitation services across the West of Scotland. They are dedicated to helping individuals regain their independence, improve mobility, and achieve their personal goals. Their expert team works with clients recovering from conditions like stroke, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and Parkinson’s disease, as well as those dealing with advanced MSK issues or seeking elderly rehabilitation.

A key aspect of Cortex Physiotherapy’s service is their domiciliary service, bringing tailored physiotherapy directly to clients who may struggle to attend clinical appointments. This personalised, home-based approach ensures convenience and comfort while delivering effective, evidence-based treatments.

At Cortex Physiotherapy, they take a client-centered approach, developing bespoke rehabilitation plans that focus on each individual’s unique goals, whether it's walking independently, improving strength, or enhancing overall function.

We help younger stroke survivors and their families to reclaim their lives through active peer support.

Digby Brown is Scotland's largest personal injury practice. From our seven offices in Ayr, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Kirkcaldy, Inverness and Aberdeen, we cover the length and breadth of the country. Our expertise in personal injury law, particularly in the fields of serious head and spinal injury is widely acknowledged. Digby Brown is ranked Band 1 for Personal Injury in Scotland by Chambers Guide to the UK Legal Profession and Legal 500. 

In cases of traumatic brain injury a specialist solicitor is vital. Seeking rightful and fair compensation after the accident is just one aspect of the package of measures which needs to be considered and implemented to try and ensure that the process of rehabilitation and adjustment can start. 

We can immediately provide advice and support on statutory benefits and how to access local authority social services through our in-house welfare rights service. We can make a real difference by arranging private rehabilitation, by assessing housing needs and, most importantly, implementation of care and case management regimes where required.

The Dirrans Centre provides a rehabilitation service for adults across North Ayrshire with a physical disability, brain injury, neurological or long-term conditions. Personalised community based rehabilitative supports are provided. 

Services promote independence, self-management and meaningful activity. The community links programme is delivered through a term-based schedule with support provided for employment aspirations and links to opportunities. Individuals can be supported in their transition from care to living independently within the community. Support is delivered within the Dirrans Centre, in the service users home environment and within other appropriate community resources.

If you live in East Ayrshire and have an acquired brain injury, learning disability or mental health problem, East Ayrshire Advocacy Service can help and support you to make your views known about things that affect your life. 

An Advocate is an ordinary person who will give their time to get to know you and when necessary, speak up for you or support you to speak up for yourself so that people and organisations take into account what you have to say. 

Your Advocate will, if you wish: 

• Act for you when and how you choose 

• Find out what you think about things 

• Help you find out information 

• Accompany you to meetings, medical appointments or reviews 

• Stand by you when you have to make choices or decisions about things that affect your life 

• Help you to put your views across to other people 

• Do things WITH you, not FOR you

East Ayrshire Carers Centre provide a range of services for Carers in East Ayrshire: 

• Carers Support Plans 

• Advice and information 

• Training 

• Advocacy 

• Social activities 

• Drop-in centres 

• Benefits and money advice 

• Respite breaks 

• Complimentary therapies 

• Young Carers Groups 

East Ayrshire Carers has bases in Kilmarnock, Cumnock and Dalmellington. Home visits and evening appointments are available on request.

Epilepsy Connections runs a variety of projects and services within the Greater Glasgow & Clyde, Forth Valley and Ayrshire & Arran Health Board areas, offering information, advice and support to people with epilepsy, their families, friends and carers and the professionals working with them. 

The Epilepsy Fieldwork Teams in the Greater Glasgow & Clyde, Forth Valley, and Ayrshire & Arran areas provide person-centred, holistic support to children and adults with epilepsy and their families. Their approach is to find out what matters to you and to support you to find the best way to manage epilepsy, seizures and medication, and to live well with your condition. 

They offer: 

• Information about understanding and managing epilepsy, seizures and treatment; identifying seizure triggers; lifestyle issues; safety at home, school, college & university, at work, at leisure and in sport. 

• Support individuals and families to deal with their feelings about living with seizures and with the threat if seizures. 

• Help with benefits. 

• Information about other sources of advice and support.

• Liaison with epilepsy specialist clinics. 

They also provide training and education courses for anyone with a personal or professional interest in epilepsy.

There are epilepsy support groups in the North, East and South Ayrshire. These support groups are open to all ages and meet usually in the evening from 6pm - 8pm every 8 weeks. They are held in various hospitals across Ayrshire. 

The Ayrshire North group meets at Ayrshire Central Hospital in Irvine. 

The Ayrshire East group meets at East Ayrshire Community Hospital in Cumnock. 

The Ayrshire South group meets at Ayr Hospital in Ayr.

Euan's Guide makes it easier for disabled people to find great places to go. Euansguide.com is the disabled access review website where disabled people, their family, friends and carers can find and share reviews on the accessibility of places around the UK and beyond. It’s an invaluable tool for everything from planning somewhere to take the kids at the weekend to picking a last minute place for lunch. 

We all want to get out there and enjoy life, and having good quality disabled access information inspires confidence and removes fear of the unknown. With good accessibility information being so hard to find, one review is often enough to encourage others to visit. Reviews are also sent to venue owners and this can be a positive and powerful opportunity for education and change. 

The charity was founded in 2013 by Euan MacDonald MBE, a powerchair user and his sister Kiki after Euan was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease and a lack of disabled access made everyday experiences stressful. By breaking down the barriers of exclusion with the help of other people in the same situation, Euan's Guide hopes to make the world more accessible one review at a time.

Hansel is a social care provider, based in the West of Scotland, offering a range of services to people living with disabilities. 

Hansel provides the following services: 

• Lifestyle supports 

• Short breaks 

• Employment services.

Headway Ayrshire offers support, information and services throughout Ayrshire to people with a brain injury (or who have a traumatic head injury and show signs and symptoms of a brain injury), their families and carers. This can be short term, long term or just whenever you need it. Headway Ayrshireís trained staff and volunteers work together to improve knowledge and understanding of brain/head injury. Headway Ayrshire raise awareness and actively campaign for better services for people with a brain/head injury. 

Services offered: 

• Home/hospital visits (outreach service) 

• Support sessions at office base 

• Monthly information and advice sessions for North Ayrshire clients within local GP practice 

• Advice and support for attending appointments and accessing benefits 

• Community rehabilitation groups 

• Monthly carers meetings 

• Carers education sessions 

• Training seminars 

• Raising awareness and prevention campaigns 

• Advocacy 

• Adult numeracy and literacy support 

This service is free of charge and fully available to anybody suffering from the effects of a brain or head injury.

The ILF Scotland 2015 Fund is designed to support individuals who have complex disabilities to live independently. The funding makes a positive difference to the lives of recipients. 

The new ILF Scotland Transition Fund provides money, for up to one year, to support young people living with disabilities (as defined in the Equality Act 2010) to improve their lives. This includes autism, learning difficulty, physical disability, mental health (e.g. anxiety or depression) or hearing or visual impairments. 

The purpose of the Fund is to help young people, between the ages of 16 and 25 living with disabilities, with the transition after leaving school or childrenís services to be more independent and to continue spending time with other people.

Input is a charity providing work preparation for people with learning difficulties and disabilities or those who just need a little extra help. Input trainees recycle donated used computers for use by the local community. Through these tasks a work principle is developed and instilled. 

The resources of Input, its trainees and its volunteers are available for use by the community and to actively promote people with learning difficulties, the use of information technology, recycling and education.

Jordans Opticians is a multi sensory optical practice. In addition to standard eye examinations, Jordans work with visual processing problems such as timing and integration problems, synesthesia, reading difficulties, prosopagnosia, metamorphopsia, sensory integration problems, autism and non-standard difficulties. 

The service uses stimulus control and tuning.

Lifeways in Kilmarnock assist people with a range of needs to live independently and safely in their own home-supporting them to access the social, leisure, education, training, voluntary work and employment opportunities and activities open to all members of the community. 

Local Services include: 

• Learning disabilities 

• Autism 

• Acquired brain injuries 

• Mental Health 

• Short breaks and respite 

• Forensic 

• Transitional support 

• Floating support.

The Millport Care Centre is a residential care home which offers care to people aged 16 and over who suffer from physical disabilities, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. The Centre specialises in a number of care categories which include head/brain injury and stroke. Care and support is also available for those with challenging behaviour and autism. 

Also operating from this site is Embrace Housing Support and Care at Home. They provide both a short break holiday service and specialist care and support. Their services are open for adults with learning disabilities and older adults, either in their own home or in holiday accommodation on the island.

North Ayrshire Drug and Alcohol Recovery Services offers confidential support and advice to people, affected by addiction, and their families. 

Support available from North Ayrshire Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service includes: 

• Individual counselling 

• Group work programmes 

• Advice and information 

• Structured activities 

• Family support 

• Referral to specialist providers if necessary 

• Identifying other community support.

The PSST supports, co-ordinates and delivers addiction-related training and prevention activities through: 

• an addiction-related annual training calendar 

• a flexible response to the individual training needs of the local areas 

• support to Alcohol Brief Interventions (ABI), Blood Borne Viruses (BBV) and Area Drug Partnership (ADP) activities

• co-ordination and facilitation for campaigns and initiatives in support of national and local agreed targets 

• supporting service development activities. 

Their team offer courses on alcohol related brain disease (ARBD) to those who work and live in Ayrshire and Arran.

SHIMS is a self-help music group formed by musicians who have for whatever reason sustained a head/brain injury. They are volunteer run and there is no cost to join. The group meet regularly in North Ayrshire and welcome new members. 

Recently they have been involved with the Largs Players to produce a musical called Invisible. This has been well received and they have staged this musical in various places from Largs, Irvine, Paisley and Linlithgow. 

They hope to continue through 2019 with other performances and welcome any interest from any other groups who would like to stage the musical within their organisation. 

There is a review on the Shims home page www.shimsgroup.co.uk

Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland offer a variety of services across Ayrshire and Arran including: 

• A one to one communication support service - This service is provided in partnership with the NHS in response to individual need. The aim is to provide a bridge for service users between speech and language therapy and independent activities in the community. 

• Communication support groups - Group services can take the form of a smaller short-term core group service focusing on personal communication, or a larger group setting with the aim of gaining confidence in social-communication. 

• Peer Support Group - These self-managed groups are affiliated to Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland though not provided directly by the charity; some are run by volunteers, others are run by the members of the group.

Ucan-Learn.Work.Live provides a supportive and friendly learning environment within which individuals can gain a range of ìrealî work experiences such as working in the training kitchen, workshop, craft room as well as external work and gardening projects. Individuals also get the opportunity to improve their IT and core skills, daily living skills and general personal development through the Music/ Recording room and Gym as well as a wide range of social activities. By working in partnership with individuals, Ucan-Learn.Work.Live aims to provide a service that addresses their specific needs, builds on their skills and abilities, offers recognised qualifications where appropriate and offers real work employment experiences.

• Key groups that the organisation currently works with include: 

• Young people 

• Individuals with learning disabilities 

• Individuals experiencing mental health difficulties 

• The long term unemployed.

North Ayrshire Carers Centre provides information, support and advice to Carers (including Young Carers aged 8 - 18 and Young Adult Carers aged 18 - 25) throughout North Ayrshire, Arran and Cumbrae. 

As well as providing services from their office in Irvine, outreach services are provided in Largs, Saltcoats, Kilbirnie, Kilwinning and Arran on a regular basis. They also are able to visit other areas to meet with carers either in their home or in a mutual setting. 

The services provided for adult carers include: 

• Alternative therapies for carers in Irvine, Largs, Saltcoats and Kilbirnie 

• Support groups in Irvine, Saltcoats, Kilbirnie, Arran and Kilwinning 

• Carers training 

• Advocacy 

• Benefit maximisation and assistance with form filling

• Counselling 

• 1:1 support 

• Advice on Carers Rights 

• Referral to other agencies. 

North Ayrshire Carers Centre also has 6 Young Carer/Young Adult Carers groups and can provide 1:1 support for these Carers.

Unity Enterprise Carers Centre in Ayr offers specialist information, support, advocacy and advice to carers in South Ayrshire. The service offers both one-to-one and group support to unpaid or family carers from the age of eight upwards, and can assist with: 

• Benefits 

• Emotional support 

• Advocacy 

• Peer support. 

The service provides the opportunity for carers to meet each other through formal support groups or informal social activities and outings. Carers can exchange information and experiences and gain understanding, empathy and support.

Visibility Scotalnd is a charity working across Scotland, delivering a range of holistic services and support to people living with visual impairment. Visibility Scotland supports children and adults to make their own choices and live their lives fully, confidently and independently. At Visibility Scotland we believe that you donít need sight to have vision! 

There are many ways that Visibility Scotland can help, support or advise you or your family member. If your vision has been affected by stroke or head injury, its ìNeurosightî project might be able to help.