Success stories

Ian’s Story

"With the right support, people with drug addiction can turn their life around…Rebuilding a career has changed my life." Before becoming dependent on drugs and alcohol Ian, from the Wirrall, had a successful career as a chef. He held a variety of catering positions for eight years, most recently as second chef at a hotel.

Ian had experimented with drugs while at school. This increased as he began his working career and had access to money. Soon Ian became a chaotic user of both drugs and alcohol, and was eventually given a three-year prison sentence for the possession and supply of drugs.

Upon release, Ian was determined to help other addicts. He was introduced to Tomorrow’s People Merseyside and its Nextstep initiative – Advice on Learning and Work. It became clear that Ian wished to return to full-time work as a qualified drug support worker and mentor, rather than go back to his career as a chef.

Tomorrow’s People helped Ian update his CV, complete application forms and approach other charities for funding to join a support worker course. Ian started two courses in September 2005, an NVQ level 2 in drug and alcohol awareness and an introduction to counselling course.

Sarah’s Story

"Tomorrow’s People has been with me every step of the way in my journey back into work, helping me get my life back on track." Sarah Field is looking forward to embarking on a career within the nursing profession. Bright, educated and sociable, at age 24 she has a positive future ahead of her.

But just two years ago things did not look so positive for Sarah.

Sarah successfully completed a university degree in 2002, but, like most students, she wasn’t sure which career path to follow. To keep her options open, she undertook a short course in visual merchandising at the London College of Fashion.

Sarah also held various office based positions including an administration and sales role at a family run jewellery business, which furthered her interest in fashion and design.

However, concerns about paying off her university debts were taking their toll on Sarah and she became very anxious and started suffering from panic attacks. Soon she was signed off work and put on medication to ease her anxiety.

Luckily for Sarah she is a patient at the Pine Street surgery in Islington, London, where a Tomorrow’s People specialist employment adviser provides a one-to-one outreach service for those looking to get back into work.

It was during a consultation with her doctor that Sarah was told about the Tomorrow’s People project, which is based within the surgery, and she registered for help.

The first step was confidence building. Sarah visited the adviser at least once a week talking through her problems and exploring options.

As soon as Sarah felt ready to re-enter the job market the adviser helped her update her CV and supported her with interview techniques that were video taped and reviewed to build her confidence.

Sarah was offered two different retail positions at the same time, which boosted her confidence. Following a series of interviews she outshone a high level of other applicants and secured a job in October 2005 with a cashmere company based within a major department store.

Once her confidence was fully restored, Sarah realised that a sales job was not a big enough challenge for her and she is now looking into a career in nursing.