Support to find work - Building Better Opportunities

If you are struggling with your mental health and have been unemployed for some time, then Sussex Oakleaf’s Recovery Workers can help you to take positive steps towards employment. 

We provide one to one support to help you gain new skills and increase your confidence. Recovery Workers are experienced and trained to support you with your mental health and to support you to fulfil your potential.

We can offer you:

• One to one support
• Confidence building
• Help to access training
• Skills development

With access to support and learning and development resources, you can begin to think about a new future in work.

Building Better Opportunities

Sussex Oakleaf has teamed up with a network of eight other local charities led by Aspire Sussex to deliver two projects, Working Together for Work and Local Learning Perspectives.

The projects are part of the Building Better Opportunities project which is funded by the European Social Fund and the National Lottery, through the Big Lottery Fund.

Working Together for Work

This project aims to support families as a whole with multiple complex barriers to work, to develop their skills, capabilities, talents and resilience. The goal is to support more adults and young people into employment or training by providing an increased focus on employment through skills for work and employment opportunities.

As well as providing services to help the adults in the family become work ready, the project will help their children’s learning and ambitions. This is achieved by working closely with other services and agencies engaging with families; to provide a wrap-around support on a one to one basis and at family level, by delivering courses where parents/carers and children are involved in learning together.

Local Learning Perspectives

This project aims to promote and increase social inclusion through supporting individuals in the community while developing their basic and social skills. We will guide and support each participant in their path to overcome the challenges and barriers that prevent them from moving forward.

The activities delivered through this project include:

• Learning programmes in the community
• Training, learning support and qualifications for members of local communities seeking employment or looking to become more ‘employment ready’
• Additional support to improve chances of job entry
• Additional support to improve chances of entry into education/training

Our support is changing lives

Since the start of the project, a number of participants have entered into employment following periods of long-term unemployment. With targeted support participants have reported feeling more optimistic about their future. One to one emotional and practical support, including goal setting, has helped people to develop their problem-solving skills and participants report feeling more interested in new activities.

A participant on our Family Employment (BBO3) project describes how things have changed since starting on the project earlier this year and securing employment:

“It’s absolutely brilliant, I love it. It has made a big change to my life. I have been encouraged to apply for a permanent position with an employer who I’m currently working with as agency staff”

One of our Recovery Workers described the project like this:

“This is truly a unique opportunity. It’s a chance for clients to build self-esteem and gain confidence and we have seen some fantastic results.

As a Recovery Worker, I help clients to explore new life opportunities. I’ve seen people make a real difference to their quality of life and begin to grab hold of a whole new future. I help clients to find and take advantage of training and employment opportunities which they may not have had before.

Poor mental health can make it really difficult for people to find and keep work. Going back to work after being unemployed is scary and daunting but we have had some real successes. One of which had been an alcoholic for twenty years. After being sober for three years, we are now helping him to turn things around and find some truly meaningful work. He is truly inspiring and serves as a testament to what we can all achieve with the right support.

You never know who you are going to meet as a Recovery Worker, but it is satisfying to see so many people taking huge leaps towards a better future for themselves.”