We are a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation dedicated entirely to supporting people who are recently bereaved — free, non-clinical, and rooted in the character of this town.
Vibrant Health Advocates – Halley is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation based in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, dedicated entirely to supporting people who are recently bereaved. We take our name from the Halley neighbourhood and the spirit of community it represents — a place where people look out for one another, where loss is shared rather than hidden, and where practical solidarity matters as much as kind words.
Our work rests on two foundations: listening and signposting. The listening side happens in our weekly circles — warm, facilitated gatherings where bereaved people can speak honestly about who they have lost, what they are feeling, and what they are afraid of, without being rushed toward recovery or told how grief should look.
The signposting side recognises that bereavement creates practical pressures alongside emotional ones, and our coordinators work one-to-one with individuals to map the services, benefits, and specialist support available to them across North Lanarkshire and beyond.
We are governed by a volunteer trustee board drawn from the local area and staffed by a small paid team supported by a committed group of trained volunteers. We receive funding from the Scottish Government's communities portfolio, North Lanarkshire Council, and charitable trusts, and we are registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR). Everything we offer is free at the point of need, and we work hard to ensure our spaces are welcoming to everyone in Airdrie regardless of background, faith, or the circumstances of their loss.
Vibrant Health Advocates – Halley grew out of a recognition that Airdrie had a gap no statutory service was filling. In the years following cuts to community mental health provision across North Lanarkshire, local residents and health workers began to notice that recently bereaved people — particularly those who did not meet clinical thresholds for formal counselling — were falling through the cracks, struggling in isolation with no peer support and little idea of where to look for help.
A small group of committed local people, including a retired district nurse, a community development worker, and two individuals who had themselves experienced significant loss, began meeting informally to think about what a different kind of response might look like. They visited listening circle models operating elsewhere in Scotland, consulted with Cruse Bereavement Scotland and NHS Lanarkshire, and spent nearly a year speaking with Airdrie residents about what would actually feel useful and safe.
From those conversations, Vibrant Health Advocates – Halley took shape — registered as a SCIO, grounded in the specific character of this town, and committed to the belief that grief is not a problem to be solved but a human experience that deserves proper company.
Vibrant Health Advocates – Halley exists to ensure that every person recently bereaved in Airdrie and the surrounding communities of North Lanarkshire has access to compassionate peer support and clear, careful guidance toward the wider help that exists for them. We do this through structured listening circles that create genuine connection between people navigating grief, and through a signposting service that cuts through confusion and connects individuals to practical, emotional, and specialist resources.
We believe that the quality of support a person receives after loss should not depend on their income, their connections, or their confidence in navigating complex systems. Our work is free, non-clinical, and built entirely around the pace and priorities of the person who comes to us.
Vibrant Health Advocates – Halley is governed by a trustee board whose members bring professional expertise in health, finance, and community development alongside personal lived experience of bereavement.
Our trustees give their time voluntarily and are responsible for the strategic direction and financial stewardship of the organisation. They are supported by our small staff team and by the volunteers who facilitate our listening circles — all of whom undertake structured training in bereavement awareness, active listening, and safeguarding before working with participants.
Get in touch with our team in Airdrie — no referral needed, no fixed timetable, just a warm and human space where you are heard.
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