Kevin Begley has been a familiar face at Your Voice for almost six years and helps others use sport and wellbeing activities to better themselves.
Kevin himself battled with drink and drugs when he was in his early twenties but courageously gained his sobriety in 2007 at the age of 27.
Kevin Begley is a familiar face at Your Voice. (Image: George Munro)
In the years that have followed, he has used his experiences and his knowledge to help people become more connected in their communities and live a full and happy life.
Kevin, 46, said: “I love being able to help people through doing things that I know have helped me.”
After attending St Patrick’s Primary and Notre Dame High School, Kevin worked as a welder in a shipyard in Govan for four years.
His love of football and fitness helped him get sober and in 2008 he represented Scotland with the Street Soccer team at the Homeless World Cup in Australia.
Kevin’s experience with Street Soccer led him into working in health and social care and he took on a role working in addiction and homeless services for Turning Point Scotland in Glasgow.
After a few years there, he decided to take a break and worked as a Tesco delivery driver at the start of the pandemic.
Kevin got a job as a community connector at Your Voice in 2020 as coronavirus was properly taking hold.
He said: “It was a really strange time.
“My main job was phoning people who were isolated and who didn’t have any family, and providing them with social connection.”
In the first 18 months of his role at Your Voice, when pandemic restrictions began to ease, Kevin helped individuals from all over Inverclyde get out into the community and promoted the importance of health and wellbeing.
When the support organisation received a significant amount of funding post-pandemic to be used to help people get active again by going to the gym, Kevin carved out a unique role for himself.
He said: “I’ve been passionate about football and fitness for years and it helped me so much in my recovery.
“I’m known to my colleagues as the ‘gym guy’.
“I’m still a community connector and but I have a real focus on the fitness site of things.
“I’m really enthusiastic when I’m doing it because I know that I’m helping people.”
Kevin has been running group gym sessions on a Tuesday and a Thursday at Urban Fit gym in Greenock for around four years.
The classes rely on donations, so Kevin is always on the lookout for funding sources to keep them going.
Your Voice has recently received funding from the Inverclyde HSCP health improvement team which is being used to run a 12-week programme of classes on Mondays.
Kevin said: “Fitness is fantastic for mental and physical health and it helps so many different kinds of people, including people with long-term health conditions and disabilities.
“We cover all angles in the sessions.
“It’s about getting that social connection for people who are suffering through loneliness and isolation and helping them to form new relationships, all while they’re getting fitter.
“Some people face barriers in getting to a commercial gym – they maybe don’t have the money or it’s too intimidating.
“We have the gym to ourselves and it’s closed off to the public so it’s much more welcoming and it makes everyone feel safer.”
Soon after he took on the Your Voice role, Kevin set up football sessions for asylum seekers staying in Inverclyde.
Funding for the scheme unfortunately didn’t continue but players have been able to keep playing through Street Soccer and in Craig Molloy’s training sessions.
Kevin says a couple of the New Scots also come along to his gym sessions now.
He told the Tele the best part of his job as a community connector with a focus on fitness is seeing the transformation in people.
Kevin added: “Their confidence grows at the same time as their overall health and wellbeing and their general fitness.
“People are maybe a bit shy at first but you see them opening up and forming meaningful relationships.
“They’re organising social events outwith the sessions and going for lunch.
“That shows me that the sessions are really improving lives.
“Fitness is so beneficial for people.”
Kevin runs a movement and mindfulness group in the office and said taking a holistic approach to health and fitness is vital.
He added: “I really believe in it and I’m really passionate about it.
“Sometimes people get stuck in a cycle of taking medication but they need to think about their overall health.
“Social connection and mindfulness is a big part of that.
“It really does help people and it works.”
Kevin says his wife Stephanie has been a constant source of support to him for many years.
He loves working with the team at Your Voice and enjoys being a big part of the community.
Kevin added: “Being able to put a bit back into the community is really great for my self-worth.
“I’m not stuck in a rut; I’m being beneficial to society.
“If you don’t enjoy your work, there’s no point in being there.”