Jeffery Dickinson, 61, had been a full-time carer of his parents for 12 years as his father had Alzheimer. Once his father passed in 2017, Jeff continued to care for his mother who needed his support fulltime who sadly passed in June 2020.
This meant Jeff’s situation changed instantly. Jeff was no longer classed as a full-time carer and wasn’t entitled to the support he was used to. This impacted Jeff’s mental health as he struggled with grief and new financial worries from being unemployed.
This is when Jeff received a leaflet from Together Housing that advertised Newground’s employment scheme which offers support with CV writing, interview skills and finding employment. Jeff decided that this was the help he needed and decided to get in touch.
Jeff said, “In order to claim Universal Credit I needed to prove I was actively looking for work. Not only this, I knew that finding employment would make me feel better physically and mentally. I wanted something to occupy my mind"
“Before getting support from Newground I tried to write my own CV which was the first time I had ever written one! It made me feel down about the new circumstances I found myself in and I was glad to find out about a service that could support me.”
Jeff was put in touch with employment advisor Joe Geraghty who was able to look over his CV and update it so Jeff could be employable going forward. Joe also contacted several local agencies to find out if any were hiring to give Jeff some work experience that he could add to his CV.
Jeff said, “Not long after helping me with my CV, Joe was back in touch to say there was a temporary full-time position available as a picker/packer at a local warehouse. I was nervous when he asked if I was interested, but I knew it was time to bite the bullet and give it a chance!”
“The position started at the end of November and lasted until the end of December and I found the experience really useful after not being a part of the workforce for a decade. I was really relieved that they were understanding of my COPD and I managed the lighter items. It was proper teamwork and it really did me a lot of good. Everyone there was nice, and it improved my mental and physical health.”
Jeff is now looking forward to the future, “I feel a lot more confident now with my new CV and work experience. I am going to continue to work with Joe to find employment and I feel more hopeful for the future.”
Joe, an Employment Advisor at Newground, said “I think Jeff has a bright future ahead and we will continue to work together to find a job he can have until he retires.”
You can find out more about Newground’s employment schemes here.