To mark National Careers Week, Key Worker Steven talks about his experience of working within our Employment team after being supported by Changing Lives.
My name is Steve and I am one of the Key Workers on the new Gateshead Go Work Live project that Changing Lives are offering in conjunction with EDT and the Gateshead Council / Levelling Up Fund.
The aim of the new project is to reach and improve the lives of residents of Gateshead who are furthest from the Jobs Market.
I have been with Changing Lives for over 5 years now initially working on the Moving on Tyne & Wear project supporting the residents of Gateshead with health barriers move back into work, training, volunteering or offering holistic support, after 4 years doing that I was transferred onto the Get Ahead project supporting residents of Newcastle in a similar way.
Having had issues with alcohol and substances prior to my employment with Changing Lives not only have my employers changed my life but I am also now regularly entrusted to support other Participants with similar issues get their lives back on track.
I have been blessed to be supported by the most incredible Teams whilst working here and myself and Aimee are really excited to be working on this new role back in Gateshead where I learned my craft.
Every day is a new challenge and something to look forward too as we work with all sorts of different people and my new role is very much led by the participants, some with profound learning difficulties and complicated lives, others who just need a bit of a confidence boost to get back on track.
The diverse nature of our Participants means you never know what support they will need and this makes the job both challenging but highly rewarding. I have supported over 100 people personally on their journeys in my time here, I have probably had over 30 people supported back into direct Employment and countless more into training, volunteering or simply to re-integrate into society and increase their mood, outlook and rediscover their skills, a lot of these people leave us in so much a happier place even though the support we have offered cannot always be measured by targets and stats.
I am forever grateful and proud to represent CL and our partners in supporting the people of the North East improve their lives.
Learn more about the Gateshead Go, Work, Live project here.
