Summary
Mr P was employed by the British Army from 1999 until 2008. When he left the Army Mr P went on to do Security work.
Mr P has a number of physical health issues from inquiries from his time served in the Army which has caused Mr P great pain and he was reliant on a wheelchair for a number of years. Mr P was later diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in 2015. Due to his physical health and mental health Mr P was receiving Employment Support Allowance and Personal Independence Allowance. Mr P referred himself to Working Denbighshire in January 2018 as he felt ready to start looking for opportunities to get into volunteering to eventually get back into paid employment. After intensive support from his mentor Mr P has completed numerous training courses funded by Working Denbighshire and has had regular mentoring, and Mr P has now secured a full time support role with CAIS.
Background/ what is…..?
Mr P was very successful in the army and he completed five tours of operational duty, including Iraq and Afghanistan. He was trained as a policer officer, dog handler, and personal security guard for senior ranking officers and medical store supplier. Mr P left the Army in 2008 as he felt he needed a career change and he was ready to leave. When he left the Army, Mr P secured security officer work however his physical health deteriorated significantly meaning he was now unable to work in that field. Mr P has dehydrated discs and disc bulges of the vertebrates, disc erosion and fibromyalgia all of which were caused due to his service in the army, however the symptoms of this did not arise until 2011. Mr P was in a wheelchair for three years due to the pain he suffered. Mr P was not diagnosed with PTSD for a long time. There was an incident where Mr P was arrested for having an offensive weapon in a public place, Mr P was fined and was placed under probation. Mr P was living with his partner at the time and over next couple of years he then started to engage with support services and he was diagnosed with PTSD in 2015. During 2015 and 2018 Mr P concentrated on his physical and mental health and was unable to work during this time.
The engagement……
Mr P referred himself to Working Denbighshire in January 2018. When Mr P initially started to engage with Working Denbighshire he was awaiting a six week residential therapy course with Combat Stress for support with his PTSD and he did not want to start looking for opportunities before he completed this course, as the course was imperative for his treatment and progress. Mr P was not sure of the career path he now wanted to follow as all previous employment has been very physical work and Mr P was now unable to do this due to his health. Therefore initial work was completed with Mr P, which included a Work Star to allow Mr P and myself to explore many different ideas and career choices in depth. After extensive discussions Mr P thought he may possibly want a role where he could help other people, especially people who have been through similar experiences as him in the army.
Mr P then went on the six week therapy course in Scotland in August 2018 which was very beneficial for his health. Once he returned, regular support began again with myself. Mr P advised the course with Combat Stress was very beneficial and he has learnt many coping mechanisms for his PTSD so he feels he is now able to manage this better. Since returning from the course Mr P made the decision he defiantly wanted to explore support work, especially with veterans. Due to his health and being out of work for a lengthy time, myself and Mr P decided to explore volunteering initially to gain experience and knowledge of the field which would hopefully lead to paid work.
After returning from Scotland, Mr P’s relationship with his partner broke down, therefore he had to move in with his parents. Due to this, I supported Mr P to contact the housing team in Denbighshire Council to make a housing application, and I also supported Mr P to complete the medical assessment form. I advised Mr P he needed to contact his GP and Combat stress for evidence to support his application which he did. Mr P was then placed on the housing waiting list.
To gain voluntary work I contacted different organisations who support veterans to source opportunities. I contacted SAAFA and The Armed Forces Charity, to enquire what opportunities they had available and gave them Mr P’s details. Mr P had an initially appointment to discuss the opportunities and he was given an application form to complete. I supported Mr P to complete the volunteer application form however due to Mr P disclosing his criminal history he was rejected.
The Working Denbighshire Engagement Officer then provided me with information about Woody’s Lodge, a new support group for veterans. I showed Paul this information and we contacted them to see if they required any support, in which they did, so Mr P attended this the next week to see what it was like. Mr P initially went to the group as an attendee, however he spoke to the organisers and advised he would be very interested in supporting the group as a volunteer, which they were happy for Mr P to do, so he took on the role of a volunteer when he attended moving forward. Mr P would talk to the veterans who attended the group and made them feel comfortable and supported them to address any issues they had. Mr P found this volunteering very useful and it cemented to him that he wanted to pursue a career in support work.
As support work was a career change for Mr P he needed to compete training to increase his knowledge of the area and to increase his employability prospects. Paul attended; All Wales Safeguarding of Adults and Children course, Emergency First Aid at Work course, Health and Safety in the Workplace course and Mental Health First Aid course, all funded by Working Denbighshire and a free RBLI Lifeworks Course. Furthermore, during mentoring sessions we discussed different aspects of support work, for example; completing risk assessments, different risk factors he may face, different situations and how he would address these and completing support plans.
After attending a number of training courses and regular mentoring sessions Mr P felt ready to start applying for paid jobs which I supported him to do.
Good Practice Shared / Lessons Learned / Outcomes
Mr P has now been allocated a two bedroom flat through Denbighshire Council and he has settled in very well. The change in address meant Paul had to change over to Universal Credit and this experience was not straight forward therefore I supported Paul to access specialist advice from Citizens Advice and the Job Centre and this was eventually all put in place. Mr P was also supported by Citizens Advice to apply for to the Discretionary Assistance Fund for household items for his new property, I provided a supporting letter for this application, and Mr P was successful and he was able to furnish his new property.
I supported Mr P to search for a number of job opportunities, and attend a Working Denbighshire Jobs Fair. At this jobs fair we spoke to CAIS about a Tenancy Support Worker vacancy they had available and we got an application form. The same week I supported Mr P to complete the job application and he was successful in gaining an interview. We spoke about interview techniques and possible interview questions to prepare Mr P for this interview as it was his first interview in over ten years.
Mr P attended the interview and he was successful in securing a full time support worker post in a new supported housing project for people who have experienced homelessness and drug or alcohol misuse. Mr P is now awaiting for his DBS to come back to receive his start date. Mr P has discussed his criminal history with the manager of the project before his DBS application was sent off and he has been advised they do not think this will be a barrier for him moving forward.
Mr P has engaged very well with Working Denbighshire and has been very determined to move forward in his life back into paid employment. Mr P already had many skills however the deterioration of his physical and mental health led to Mr P’s confidence being very low. I believe Mr’s P’s journey is evidence of the fact, if an individual engages with a number of supportive organisations, it enables a holistic approach to be developed and they can improve all aspects of their life which on a whole has led Mr P’s confidence rocketing and him being able to reach his employment goal. Mr P has been patient and has ensured he got the support he needed for his mental health, and attended funded courses to increase his skills and regular mentoring, which I now believe will ensure his path back into employment is sustainable for the future.