Shetland Link Up

👉 We are recruiting! 👈

If you think you'd like to join our small, dedicated team, supporting our drop-in and activities, please get in touch.

Closing date is Sunday 16th August

🙌 Shetland Link Up's Annual General Meeting 🙌

Tuesday 30th June 2026, at 5.30pm in the Lerwick Methodist Church Hall, Prince Alfred Street.

Past and present clients and anyone with an interest in Mental Health issues will be very welcome to help us celebrate our achievements in 2025-26.

A light buffet and refreshments will be provided afterwards.

If you are interested but unable to attend, or for more information about Shetland Link Up phone 01595693313 or email [email protected]

We hope to see you there!

👉Saturday 3rd January 2026👈

Drop-in will be closed today due to the weather conditions.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

September 10th 2025 marks Su***de Prevention Awareness Day.

The theme this year focuses on "changing the narrative" - changing the narrative on su***de is to support open and honest discussions about su***de and suicidal behaviour. The international Association for su***de prevention suggests that by initiating these vital conversations, we can break down barriers, raise awareness, and create better cultures of understanding and support.

Healthy Shetland's blog includes details of some local and online training that can help us learn how to start and have these vital conversations.

You can find the link on their post or go direct to their blog here:
https://www.healthyshetland.com/su***de-prevention-awareness-day-2025/

💚 Today is World Su***de Prevention Day 💚

We're joining others around the globe to raise awareness and encourage open conversations about su***de.

Our aim is to ensure everyone in our community feels confident to speak up, seek help, and access the right resources. Talking about su***de can be difficult, but it's a vital step in creating a culture where no one feels alone.

👉 Read more in our latest blog: www.healthyshetland.com/su***de-prevention-awareness-day-2025

📢 Please share and spread the word!

***dePreventionDay 💚

We were pleased to visit with Hjaltland Housing Association last week to talk about our service.

⭐️Thanks for inviting us along ⭐️

On Friday afternoon we welcomed Rebecca Grant and Vaila Simmons from Shetland Link Up into the office to provide staff on the service they provide.
Shetland Link Up is a drop in centre for people suffering and recovering from mental ill health.
It is somewhere you can;
- talk and share your feelings if you want to, but not if you don’t.
- make new friends but not be under any pressure to do so.
- join in a game of dominoes, pool etc or not, as you wish.
- come and go as you please.

If you would like more information, please contact Shetland Link Up on 01595693313 or speak to staff at Hjaltland who can provide further information.

👉Did you know👈

Shetland Link Up is registered with , which means over 7,000 brands will now donate to us for FREE every time you use to shop with them.

These donations will help SO MUCH, so please sign up to support us – it’s completely FREE and doesn’t take long.

Every donation you make goes towards our 'Activities Fund' which covers all additional costs of the activities and outings for our group.

You can sign up to support us here:

You spend, brands donate to Shetland Link Up Activities Fund. Help us when you shop with 7,000+ brands. Join now.

✨A very well done to Ann Thomson✨

Ann has been a huge support to Shetland Link Up - clients, staff and volunteers - for over 20 years now, holding the charity together and leading the way through some difficult times. We are grateful for her dedication and determination.

Congratulations on all three nominations Ann - a well deserved Willin' Haands Award from Voluntary Action Shetland Volunteering

✨And last for today but certainly not least, we would like to highlight Ann Thomson as a very special Willin Haands Award recipient. ✨

Ann has been nominated for a Willin Haands Award not by one, not by two, but by three organisations she supports!

Ann has been volunteering at Bressay parkrun since its inception. Over the last 6.5 years, there has hardly been a Saturday morning that Ann has not been volunteering at parkrun in some capacity; from coordinating volunteers over timekeeping all the way to serving bacon rolls at the Speldiburn café after.

Furthermore, Ann is a director of Shetland Link Up and has been involved since 2003 and since then has held the charity together and led the way supporting the charity through some difficult times.

And last but not least Ann is one of the driving forces at Open Door Drama .
At ODD, Ann supports all things admin: keeping members informed, booking space, dealing with forms, organising and running tuck shop, applying for funding, making sure all our safeguarding is on track and keeping the books in order.

All three of these groups (and we’re sure many others in Shetland) are incredibly grateful for her and don’t know what they’d do without her massive voluntary contribution to Shetland.

A relevant and heartfelt film about a young woman grappling with addiction, The Outrun, based on the bestselling memoir by Amy Liptrot.

'Fresh out of rehab, Rona returns home to the wild and beautiful Orkney Islands. After over a decade in London, where she both found and lost love, and where her life was derailed by alcoholism, Rona, now 30, attempts for the first time to reconcile with her traumatic past amidst the majestic landscape of her youth, surrounded by ferocious gales and a stormy sea.'

Showing at Mareel from Friday 27 September - 17 October: https://tickets.shetlandarts.org/.../film/the-outrun-cert-15

🎬 Based and partly shot in Orkney, The Outrun starts screening later this month - with a preview screening ahead of general release available to book now!

Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan (Little Women) gives a remarkable performance as a young woman grappling with addiction in Nora Fingscheidt’s The Outrun, based on the bestselling memoir by Amy Liptrot.

Fresh out of rehab, Rona returns home to the wild and beautiful Orkney Islands. After over a decade in London, where she both found and lost love, and where her life was derailed by alcoholism, Rona, now 30, attempts for the first time to reconcile with her traumatic past amidst the majestic landscape of her youth, surrounded by ferocious gales and a stormy sea.

🎟 Screening from Friday 27 September (preview on Wednesday 25 September): https://tickets.shetlandarts.org/sales/categories/film/the-outrun-cert-15

At Shetland Link Up our 👉Lending Library👈 has a wide range of books, mostly mental health and wellbeing related. We have light-reads, short stories, novels, biographies, reference books and workbooks that our clients, staff and volunteers can borrow.

However, when we are stressed, anxious or feeling over-whelmed it is not always easy to manage reading a whole books, or even begin a book.

Audiobooks can be a great alternative for people who love stories but are struggling to pick up a book and The Marmalade Trust suggest that Audiobooks can help us manage feelings of loneliness.

"Stories have an incredible power to connect us to the wider world. Through audiobooks, we can immerse ourselves in diverse experiences and perspectives, effectively stepping into someone else’s shoes. This can be especially comforting for those who are physically isolated due to illness or disability, as it provides a means of escaping the confines of their immediate environment and travelling somewhere exciting." ~ The Marmalade Trust

Did you know that with your library card and PIN number you can access a Library of Audiobooks, eBooks and Magazines through The Shetland Library.

You can find out how here: https://www.shetland.gov.uk/libraries/ebooks/2

You can read the whole article from The Marmalade Trust online here: https://www.marmaladetrust.org/post/audiobooks?fbclid=IwY2xjawFWbAVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZo4uKDV3KWyWaLRnORQzDHWBkUE4QUIEKSHfCet_gZdUM8TjwQSuzoOtA_aem_bpAHsebvGTbMGoo6pVHLqA

How audiobooks can help with loneliness What is loneliness?Loneliness is a normal human emotion, it’s our bodies' way of telling us we need more human connection. Loneliness means different things to different people. But there is a general sense of isolation or disconnection from others or a feeling we are lacking or missing social con...

🌟Research Opportunity🌟

Bipolar Scotland recently shared a research opportunity for people who are 50+ with bipolar disorder or relatives/close friends who support someone 50+ with bipolar disorder on a regular basis.

For more details, please read the description on the image and if you're interested in taking part, please contact [email protected]