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LOCAL CHARITY HELPS LONG TERM UNEMPLOYED TRIUMPHANTLY RETURN TO WORK
PROVIDING
inspiration, guidance and support, The Social Partnership has helped
many gain new qualifications and grasp new horizons.
It’s hard to believe that Sam Holdstock, a sharp, savvy support
worker based in an alcohol and drug detox centre in Chester,
suffered 12 years of unemployment and bleak personal hardships
before she found her current job. But that’s exactly what the 38
year old mother of 2 was dealing with before she discovered the
Fixers project in Halton.
Training long-term unemployed people to fill gaps in the labour
market for qualified community drug workers, Fixers provides not
only industry specific training with the National Occupational
Standards for Drug and Alcohol (DANOS) but also bespoke personal
training, support and mentoring. Improving participant’s
employability skills by supplying paid employment, locally-based
work placements and job search support Fixers has enjoyed much
success and has helped many, including Sam, overcome the odds and
turn their lives around.
Having gained a clutch of NVQs and qualifications that enable her to
assess young people and help them overcome difficulties including
financial difficulties, teenage parenting and aggression as well as
emotional and drug problems. Sam said:- “My life has been
transformed thanks to Fixers; I’m a different person now. I’ve
worked hard and the project has helped me overcome my problems. I
now feel I can really help people who come to see me as a support
worker, not just because I know what they are going through and have
been in their shoes before, but because I now have the
qualifications to give them the right advice.”
Determined to “give something back,” Sam’s enthusiasm for
learning was awakened by the project, about which she says:-
“It made me feel equal, that I could and would achieve something in
life.”
Marie Fox, services co-ordinator at The Social Partnership, said:-
“We’re really proud of Sam; she’s a great example of what
Fixers can do for people. She worked really hard and her thirst for
knowledge and constant eagerness are something to be in awe of. She
has always given it her all and she is a fantastic student with a
great deal to offer. What’s really striking about Sam is the
great relationship she has with clients. They even stop her in the
street for a chat. She always has time for people and genuinely
wants to help. It’s been wonderful to watch her confidence, skills
and knowledge grow as a result of her involvement with Fixers, she
said she got involved with the project because she wanted to give
back what she’d taken and she’s more than done that.”
Since 1999, 168 people have accessed the Fixers programmes, of these
91% have progressed into full time sustainable employment in the
substance misuse and social care field, and 100% have gained
industry specific and generic qualifications. The majority of
people who take advantage of Fixers must overcome multiple exclusion
barriers further to being long term unemployed, including criminal
records, a history of substance misuse, being single parents,
homelessness, lack of work history, poor qualifications, basic
skills and health as well as low self confidence, self esteem and
aspirations.
The average length of unemployment for those on the 2005/6 Fixers
programme was 17 and a half years, 90% of this group progressed into
full time employment. During 2006/7, 97% of those completing Fixers
progressed in to full time employment.
Fixers aims to remove these barriers by promoting skill development
coupled with actual work experience and providing training,
qualifications, people development, intermediary support and access
to information.
For more information on Fixers programmes call
0151 258 6333 or log on to
www.tsp.org.uk/page5.htm.
If you would like more information on The Social Partnership call
0151 258 1199.
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LOCAL CHARITY AIMS TO PROVIDE EFFECTIVE EXIT STRATEGIES FOR STREET
WORKERS
THE Social
Partnership has launched ‘Routes Out of Sex Work,’ a service
that targets female street workers that want to move from the kerb
side to the work place.
Up until now little provision has been made for street workers in
Liverpool that may want to pursue legitimate employment.
Providing advice on how to gain skills for work, advice on health
issues and support, 'Routes Out of Sex Work', is a European Social
Fund project, managed through Liverpool Neighbourhood Regeneration
Programme and based in the heart of the city centre. Working in
partnership with the Armistead Street Project, the 'Routes Out of Sex
Work' team is based in Armistead’s Stanley Street premises and aims
to bridge the gap between street and the work place for active
female street sex workers, by offering them opportunities to exit.
Jackie Bethel, one of the directors at The Social Partnership said:-
“Many of the women that Routes Out of Sex Work have engaged
with so far have revealed a wide variety of career aspirations, from
working in a shop or office to teaching, but lack legitimate work
related skills and experience. We have fully trained staff available
to give those interested in exiting advice and guidance on how these
aspirations could become realities.
From dealing with housing and welfare rights issues, to gaining
education and employability skills, to emotional support,
counselling, assertiveness training, confidence building and
healthcare advice, we offer a range of interventions designed
specifically to aid women in getting off the streets and giving them
a shot at a normal life.”
Often motivated to start selling sex as a means to pay for a drug
habit, frequently in addition to that of a partner or relative,
exiting the street is far from an easy option for some and certainly
a complex issue for anyone wishing to exit.
“Commonly there will be people closely connected to the woman
that are relying on the money she makes from sex work, whether it’s
her pimp, partner or other relative, to pay for their drug habits
and lifestyles,” explains Jackie. “She’s caught in a
trap of being in an undesirable, and often dangerous, line of work
but feels financially responsible for those around her, making the
decision to exit more difficult and complex. Coming to us and
wanting to leave street work is comparable to suddenly quitting a
job. Some of the women may make a substantial of pounds a week on
the streets and with often no qualifications and work experience to
gain a legitimate job; they simply can’t match those earnings.”
Hoping to engage with around 120 women actively involved in street
sex work within the 9 month funded life-span of the project is a
very positive step in the right direction for Liverpool, this year’s
European Capital of Culture.
As Jackie says:- “This is undoubtedly a great project for the
city, which we hope will bring about a big shift in attitude and
lifestyle choices for the women that access the project. What we do
isn’t an instant solution, it takes time, but it works. Even if we
manage to help a few, it’s a few whose lives will have been changed
and vastly improved forever.”
Routes Out of Sex Work is based at the Armistead Street Project in
Liverpool. Armistead Street is dedicated to offering support
services to sex workers and offers a variety of interventions
including outreach support that focuses on harm reduction, crisis
intervention and drop in facilities. Armistead Street also provides
a sex worker health clinic, referral to other agencies, plus fast
track for drug treatment and GUM care.
For more information about Routes Out of Sex Work call 0151 227
1893.
Alternatively, for more information on The Social Partnership
call 0151 258 1199 or log on to
www.tsp.org.uk.
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