SERVICE DETAILS
By My Side is Simon Community Scotland’s new harm reduction App which will host information and resources created by women who use our services, covering topics which are important for women using drugs in Scotland today.
Simon Community Scotland (SCS) has teamed up with tech consultancy AND Digital to provide easy-to-access evidence-based harm reduction support, advice and resources to people using the charity’s services, through their first ever digital app called ‘By My Side.’
Designed ‘for women, by women’, the By My Side app has been co-developed with women supported by SCS, directly addressing the challenges they face in gaining access to the right information.
Initially focused on advice to prevent drug-related harm, the app is now home to wider resources such as mental health guidance, support for those affected by domestic or sexual violence, and information for managing sexual health.
By making relevant advice and resources readily available and accessible, the app will support women to make more informed decisions about their health, wellbeing, and safety.
The app will launch initially within SCS’s residential women’s services, before being rolled out across the wider organisation and to external partners – many of whom have already contributed material and resources. SCS’s ambition is for the platform to become a digital resource that supports key workers and the people they support across the entire Alcohol and Other Drugs field.
The app provides specific functions that can not only reduce the risk of having a drug related death but supports women to be safe, be well and be connected.
Stigma was also raised as a concern – specifically that associated with being a woman who uses drugs. Importantly, this app will give women access to high quality information to guide their health decisions, without ever having to go near a service if they don’t want to. It’s about choice. Digital offers people choice and flexibility around how they can access the information, advice and support that feels right for them.
