Vibrant Health Advocates – Forge runs confidential, peer-led mental health workshops for 18- to 30-year-olds in Galashiels, helping young Borderers understand their wellbeing and find the right support — in plain language, close to home, and entirely on their terms.
young people reached
workshops delivered
felt better understood
Mental health challenges don't discriminate, but access to help often does. In Galashiels and the wider Scottish Borders, young adults have historically faced long NHS waiting times, limited local provision, and the added weight of rural stigma when they've needed support most.
Vibrant Health Advocates – Forge exists to change that. We run regular peer-led workshops out of community spaces in the heart of Gala, where trained young facilitators — people who have navigated their own mental health journeys — create an honest, unhurried environment for their peers to talk, learn, and breathe.
We don't use jargon, we don't rush anyone through a clinical pathway, and we don't turn anyone away because they feel they're not 'unwell enough' to deserve support. If you're between 18 and 30, live or work in the Borders, and you've been anxious, low, burned out, or simply overwhelmed, Forge was built for you.
Our storyEvery Forge workshop is planned and facilitated by trained young adults from the Borders community itself. That shared lived experience changes the energy in the room — conversations feel honest, unhurried, and genuinely safe in a way that a clinical setting rarely achieves.
We talk about mental health the way real people talk — no diagnostic labels, no tick-box exercises, no leaflets that assume you already know the system. Participants leave with practical understanding and clear next steps they can actually use.
Forge was built in and for the Borders. We know this town, its rhythms, its pressures, and the way distance from larger cities can isolate young people when they're struggling most. We meet people here — not on a video screen, not somewhere else.
Workshop, Gala community hall
Honest conversations, every day
Understanding Your Mind session
After the drop-in, Galashiels
From our flagship six-week workshop series to free facilitation training — everything Forge offers is free, confidential, and designed for the Borders.
Our flagship six-week workshop series helping 18- to 30-year-olds build practical, jargon-free knowledge about anxiety, low mood, stress, and self-care.
Find out more →A low-barrier, no-booking-required monthly space for any young Borders adult who wants to talk — or simply to be in a room with others who understand.
Find out more →A free, accredited training programme preparing young Borders adults to become confident, supervised peer mental health facilitators.
Find out more →A practitioner network connecting Forge with NHS Borders, third-sector partners, and community organisations to close gaps in young adult mental health support.
Find out more →You don't need a referral, a diagnosis, or any particular reason. If you're between 18 and 30, live or work in the Borders, and you'd like to talk — Forge is here for you.