Acting on Health - Can everyone be a link worker?

Can everyone be a link worker?

That’s the question I want to begin with today.

We often hear the success stories from the Arts on Prescription (AoP) programme—participants expressing that they feel more self-worth, less loneliness, gaining new talents, and a sense of community belonging. These are stories of transformation, empowerment, and hope.

But today, I want to shift the focus to the people behind those stories: the link workers.

This speech is not mine alone. It belongs to Marta, Aleksandra, Sigita, Leonie, Marie, Catharina – and those who cannot be here today – Beatrice, Elin, Carole, Magda Abier and Baiba.

We have all been contact persons for the participants in the Arts on Prescription in the Baltic Sea Region pilot programs. And in the role of link worker, we often hear deeply personal stories:

– A family divided by war, uprooted in a foreign, turmoil prevails. There is no escape.
– A man who has tragically lost his child – and doesn’t know how he will recover
– A young girl finding it difficult to cope with her emotions or her parents’ unrealistic expectations who cuts herself, exposing both internal and external wounds.
– Participants who are afraid they won’t be able to work again due to exhaustion, depression, or chronic pain.
– From a young girl bullied and studying at home to an elderly woman living in isolation—both searching for ways to reconnect with the world
– Participants who feel unworthy, anxious and powerless, hoping to gain control and being part of society again
– Women with burnout who have been pushed to the brink by life’s demands and relentless pressures
– Participants for whom addiction becomes a refuge from the pain of exclusion and symptoms of deeper wounds.

These are the stories we hear and the people we support.

Throughout the AoP programmes – We listen. We build trust. We support. We encourage. We give participants hope. We are there to help them through an anxiety attack, emotional situations and days where they find it difficult to engage.

We work with mentally vulnerable citizens. Yet unlike doctors, nurses, and psychologists – who often receive supervision or debriefing. More often than not link workers don’t have an outlet. Partly because in certain countries link workers are not part of the healthcare system, leaving few formal support structures. Also, social prescribing and arts on prescription in its early stages in several countries, with the main focus at present being on piloting initiatives rather than creating stability. This situation must change.

A recent UK-wide survey revealed that over 50% of link workers have considered leaving their role in the past six months. Just over a quarter are actively thinking of doing so in the next six months.

Why? They feel undervalued, there is occupational disparity, and a lack of support systems needed to protect their emotional wellbeing.

The loss of link workers is also the loss of what link workers do – to recap –

We listen. We build trust. We support. We encourage. We give hope.

But link workers are also human. They may be going through their own life crises – divorce, bereavement, illness, employment insecurity as funding dries up.

And as professionals, we often put others’ needs before our own not because we’re expected to, but because we care.
Because for us, this work is meaningful.

• It’s meaningful to witness participants grow, explore, laugh, and build relationships.
• It’s meaningful to be part of their journey – even if only for a short while.
• It’s meaningful to receive a message saying, “I’m forever grateful,” or “AoP gave me more than words can express,” or “I no longer suffer from winter depression because of AoP.”

These moments remind us why we do what we do -they warm the heart and reaffirm the purpose of Arts on Prescription

So, to return to the question:
Can everyone be a link worker?
The answer is no.

To be a link worker demands emotional resilience, deep empathy, and the ability to hold space for others while often having no space held for yourself.

• It requires a unique balance of strength and sensitivity.
• It means carrying stories that are not yours, but that stay with you.
• It means seeing potential in people who may not see it in themselves.

Many may have the heart for it, but not everyone has the capacity to carry the emotional weight – especially without proper support. And that is why the future must address the need for support systems to protect the mental health of link workers. We need structures that acknowledge the emotional demands of the role and provide space for reflection, supervision, and care.

This is where decision-makers, colleagues, and partners come in. You have the power to make this possible – by recognising the value of the role, by embedding support into policies and practices, and ensuring the transition from short-term pilots to sustainable, long-term programmes.

You all have the power to simply ask a link worker
How are you today?
Are you doing, okay?

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Keynote speech by Mildred Kealy-Jensen, Odense Municipality, at the Final Conference “Acting on Health” – Arts on Prescription in the Baltic Sea Region, co-funded by the Interreg BSR programme 2021-2027.

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