Venture Voices are a group of past participants who are making sure lived experience is at the heart of Venture Trust’s work. Meet Jennifer, Shona, Mick, Phil and Nicola (not pictured).
Established in July 2025, Venture Voices was created to ensure that the experiences of the people we support directly shape how our services are developed, delivered and improved. Through our programmes, we have long recognised that those with lived experience of trauma, adversity and personal change bring invaluable insight into what truly makes a difference. Venture Voices provide a meaningful and ongoing way for past participants to influence decisions, rather than being consulted occasionally or retrospectively.
The group provides a platform for participants to contribute to areas such as programme design, staff recruitment, service development and organisational strategy. This helps ensure that services remain relevant, accessible and responsive to the needs of the people they are intended to support.
Venture Voices also reflects a wider commitment to inclusion and empowerment. It recognises that people are not just recipients of support, but have important perspectives, skills and experiences to offer. By placing lived experience at the centre of its work, Venture Trust aims to strengthen the quality and impact of its programmes, while creating opportunities for participants to continue their own journeys with purpose and confidence.
As Denny Ford, Director of Operations, reflects, Venture Voices play a vital role in keeping the organisation grounded:
“They remind us why our work matters. Their experiences challenge us, guide us and keep us grounded in reality. That’s why lived experience isn’t an add-on at Venture Trust — it sits at the heart of how we design, deliver and improve everything we do.”
For the members of Venture Voices, this work is deeply personal. Their experiences are not abstract concepts or statistics, but realities they have lived through — including trauma, loss, addiction, exclusion, imprisonment, abuse, broken relationships and poor mental health. Many describe arriving at Venture Trust feeling lost, numb or disconnected, having lost trust in others or in themselves, or never having had the space to discover who they were.
What made the difference was not being “fixed” but being supported. Through consistent relationships, meaningful support and time spent in the outdoors — where there is space to breathe, reflect and find a sense of possibility — they began to see that their past did not have to define their future.
Today, as Venture Voices, they continue that journey. They support others who are where they once were, contribute to recruitment, fundraise, help shape ideas and ensure lived experience is part of important decisions. As they put it:
“lived experience should never sit on the sidelines — it belongs at the centre of organisations that aim to support people facing adversity.”
As Venture Voices continues to grow, we are currently welcoming new members to help broaden the representation of the group and ensure an even wider range of lived experiences shapes our work. Several members are also taking part in the Glasgow Kiltwalk this year to give back and support others on their journey. If you would like to support them, we would be incredibly grateful for your sponsorship – https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/venturetrustkiltwalk.
