PAST CLIENT EXPERIENCES
Take a look at our clients stories to see how important our work is for a better and happier community
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Michael's story
Why did he join our project?
Michael was a senior manager in the IT sector who had been made redundant. When he came to Graft Michael had used up most of his redundancy payment; he was suffering from extreme stress and depression, his marriage had broken down and a court order had removed him from the family home. At this stage Michael was technically homeless and living with friends as a sofa surfer.
What did we do?
Whilst there was a whole knot of problems to be unpicked, we encouraged Michael to keep applying for suitable IT roles while we helped him to sort out the various issues he was facing. We gave him some confidence building support and some practical support –eg. use of our office, IT, tele-phone, copying, postage etc. We also gave him some ‘recently redundant’ support to help him understand why he was feeling the way he was about his job and we were able to signpost him for other professional support to help with the various issues he was facing. After about 4 months Michael’s situation stabilised and he acquired some temporary accommodation where he could base himself. At this stage we put Michael on a programme of intensive support to really build up his confidence and encouraged him to step up his job search, use his contacts from his previous job, and we also provided some intensive interview skills training.
How has the project affected his life?
In 9 weeks, Michael had acquired a job that suited his skills and aspirations and would earn enough to be able to live independently and also meet his family financial commitments. His new job was outside of our area so we signposted him to organisations that could help with his relocation, help his to access local services and financial and budgetary sup-port. Now he is working as an IT manager.
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Martha's story
Why did she join our project?
Martha joined Graft as a mature lady with a history of mental ill health that has led to criminal convictions, treatment for her drug addictions and she has some mobility issues. Her obstacles has led to her to become estranged from her family –in particular her daughter.
What did we do?
Graft worked with Martha to build her self-confidence and to identify jobs that she would like to do and that would be accessible to her with her history. Martha was very aware of her situation and her limitations and soon accepted that before she could get a job she needed to gain some experience and she began to look for volunteering roles. From this, Martha began to engage very positively with us and with her other support teams.
How has the project affected her life?
She is no longer substance misusing and her general health has improved. With Graft’s support, Martha's first application for a volunteering role resulted in an interview offer. Her motivation and excitement about this opportunity led to her getting the job. She has adapted amazingly to being a volunteer and has obtained a second volunteering role without any support from Graft. Her confidence and self-worth have improved and she is now back in contact with her daughter.
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Rishi's story
Why did he join our project?
Rishi has Aspergers Syndrome and ADHD. He has made some bad choices in the past and has been convicted of criminal offenses. He works hard to cope with his condition and came to Graft determined to get his life back on track by studying and eventually finding paid employment.
What did we do?
Rishi is keen on environmental issues and finds being with animals a calming and rewarding experience. He has looked at various employment opportunities in this area and Graft helped him to create a plan to achieve his dream job. From this, Rishi was prepared to undertake long term training with us to achieve his goals.
How has the project affected his life?
Since engaging with us, Rishi's confidence and self-esteem has improved dramatically. He is engaging well with all of his support teams and he is proud of the progress he has made. He is also engaging in a healthier lifestyle. We have no doubts that Rishi will achieve his dream job. He has recently secured a volunteering role with an organisation that supports environmental and conservation issues.
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Nabeela's story
Why did she join our project?
Nabeela was struggling to complete a FE course in child-care. Although she had a good understanding of what was required of her in her chosen career, her maths and English skills were poor and she was unable to progress. We had supported Nabeela’s mother in the past and through this link Nabeela came to us for help. Nabeela’s self-confidence was very low and she saw no way of completing her course and moving into work. Her maths and English skills were very low and she would struggle to achieve the required Level 2 that she needed to progress.
What did we do?
We signposted Nabeela to a number of programmes that we felt would help her, however, she was unable to engage with any of them due to a mixture of low confidence and poor literacy skills. We provided some intensive support for Nabeela and quickly saw that she is an intelligent young woman –she just finds traditional learning methods inaccessible.
How has the project affected her life?
As her confidence in-creased Nabeela was able to access voluntary work in a childcare environment and she soon realized that vocation-al learning was the way forward for her. Her literacy and numeracy were more than adequate to meet the needs of the work and by engaging in vocational work she was better able to make sense of the book learning –resulting in a marked increase in her literacy and numeracy levels. With a good reference from her volunteering role, Nabeela was able to secure an apprenticeship in childcare and is achieving and progressing well and on target.
All stories have been anonymised for privacy