By Lucy Ashton
Jackie Baillie has congratulated Antoni Pia on leading the Scottish Parliament in its Time for Reflection.
The Dumbarton constituency MSP nominated the Tullochan youth development worker to lead this important part of the Scottish Parliament’s working week and he was invited to speak to Members at the start of parliamentary business on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old joined remotely as Members of the Scottish Parliament gathered in the Chamber to hear his contribution.
Jackie Baillie, Dumbarton constituency MSP, said: “I was privileged to be in the Chamber on Tuesday to watch the very important address by Antoni Pia from Tullochan during Time for Reflection.
“Time for Reflection is an important part of the working week within the Scottish Parliament as it encourages MSPs including myself to think about our service as elected representatives and is intended to be a positive and inclusive experience.
Anton Pia and Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton Constituency.
“Antoni’s address was excellent as he spoke about the challenges young people face today. It was particularly poignant that he mentioned the impact the pandemic has had on the mental health of young people as it is something he has seen first-hand and tried to address through his own work.
“He also spoke at length about the work which is undertaken by Tullochan throughout West Dunbartonshire to help young people achieve their true potential. He is a fantastic ambassador not only for the charity but for the amazing young people who live and work in my constituency. I am sure his words would have had an impact on all MSPs as we strive to serve all of our constituents, including young people.”
Antoni first became involved with Tullochan as a young person and attended at the charity’s former centre in Haldane. He was with them right through to leaving school and, five and a half years ago, after encouragement from other youth workers, he himself secured a job with the charity.
He told how one of his co-workers stopped a session to make sure people at Tullochan could listen in as he addressed Parliament on Tuesday.
Antoni said: “I didn’t expect to be doing something like this. My mum was probably the person who was most proud. I decided to talk about the organisation and mental health as that has been one of the big issues.
“During the pandemic, we just had to change the approach of how we engage with young people. We were able to do Zoom or make phone calls. We made sure we were still in touch with young people who needed that support.”
Tullochan’s Chief Executive Officer Richie Gallacher said: “We appreciate the opportunity provided to us through Jackie’s nomination and it was great to see Antoni deliver his speech to the Chamber. The whole team are incredibly proud of Antoni and it is another major milestone on his journey with Tullochan.”