Step up and help the heroes who fight Huntington’s

Charity wants more volunteers in Paisley

People in Paisley are being urged to volunteer for a major national charity that’s based in the town.

The Scottish Huntington’s Association ( SHA) is the only charity in the country supporting families living with the serious degenerative neurological condition.

And the charity has now launched a drive to boost support dubbed You and Me Against HD.

SHA patron Sarah Winckless, an Olympic and world champion rower, said: “There has been some tremendously hopeful news recently as far as progress in finding a treatment for HD is concerned. “However, it is still a way off yet. “It will come too late for some of our community and it remains important that we can continue to best meet the needs of the several thousand people across the country who rely on us to make their lives better.

“We have some amazingly committed supporters.

“In 2017 just 700 people raised £250,000 to help us deliver lifeline services to HD families last year.

“If we could recruit three times that number we could significantly improve the lives of so many more families who rely on us every day.

“We are simply asking people to spread the word about what HD is, the impact it has on people’s lives and ask them to become an active supporter.”

Among the many ways the SHA supports families is through a network of Huntington’s Disease specialists.

It also has a “world- leading” youth support team and a financial wellbeing service.

HD is a complex neurological condition with symptoms that typically begin to develop between the ages of 30 and 50.

Sufferers experience a main group of symptoms. These are changes to thinking processes, a type of early onset dementia, loss of muscle control and involuntary movements which lead to loss of speech and swallowing, along with mental illness.

People with HD might eventually lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, drink or make decisions and will eventually need 24 hour care.

Devastatingly, it is also hereditary with each child of those diagnosed at a 50 per risk developing the disease. There is no cure – so far. It is estimated there are around 1100 people living with HD in Scotland and up to 6000 potentially at risk.

“HD has been so often been hidden in the past because of the stigma attached to it – this is changing though and once people hear stories of the impact it can have on whole families, they more often than not want to help,’ added Sarah Winckless

To get involved with Scottish Huntington’s Disease Association, which is based in Paisley’s Linwood Road, visit https://hdscotland.org/ or give them a call on 0141 848 0308.

We have some amazingly committed supporters Sarah Winckless