I have been working with my IPS employment specialist, Sarah, since November 2020 and have found all her support immensely beneficial to me. Sarah is a lovely lady and so easy to talk to, so this was really helpful when trying to find a job. She also listened to my needs in a job, and we had agreed on what jobs to avoid and looked into potential career paths that I had not considered before but may enjoy going into.

In December, Sarah found me the ideal role that was going on within Rethink called a Wellbeing Support Navigator, where I would be using my personal mental health experience to help benefit others in the community. This sounded like an amazing career prospect as this was something I already had a passion for and had discussed looking into similar roles in the future. I was delighted to have a lovely interview with Naomi, the project manager, and then get offered the job.

The main concern I had was getting to work as I suffer from travel anxiety so getting a train or bus was not an option for me. This is when Sarah told me about ‘Access to Work’ which is a government funded scheme that allows me to get a taxi directly from my house to work with me only having to pay a minimal amount each journey. This was vital as I could not have accepted the job without this travel support scheme.

I have received plenty of ongoing support since being in the job role from Sarah and Naomi. Sarah checks in with me over the phone twice a week to ask me how the job is going, and we discuss what I am enjoying about the job and whether there are any problems within it, which luckily there is not! Naomi has been a wonderful manager throughout this project and has offered more support than I could have ever asked for, especially when I began to struggle with my mental health again. We discussed what I was struggling with; sleep was the main factor at the time, and I was back taking sleeping tablets to help this. Naomi was very considerate and flexible with my shifts, adapting them to suit my needs in order for me to continue with the job and work to a good standard.

Overall, I have found all the IPS and in-work support, I have received super beneficial, and I do not think I could have been working in this amazing job without both Sarah’s help and Naomi’s ongoing support within the role.

Nathan has done so well; he has come along leaps and bounds from when we started working together. Starting the role, Nathan reached out for support for his mental health and has come through it so much stronger. He is very motivated, and I am very happy working alongside him and continuing to hear his updates.

Sarah Williams – Nathan’s Employment Specialist