Year on year our Prevention by Intervention team in Charter Housing find that mental health is the biggest challenge facing the people they work with. When coupled with unmet employment needs, the challenges are intensified and little employment-specific support is available
. In recognition of this, in 2016 Charter teamed up with mental health charity, Gofal, to try to provide work-related opportunities for the people facing these challenges.
Funded by the DWP, the partnership is providing Charter tenants experiencing mental health problems with 1-2-1 support to find volunteering opportunities or employment.
Since the project began, 52 Charter tenants have been supported to access volunteering, training or education. One tenant was able to complete a placement with us here at Pobl and a further 9 have been supported into work.
The project is achieving some great outcomes; 47 people said their overall wellbeing had improved and 36 people described an increase in their ability to overcome challenges.
Crucially, the project is making a real difference to people’s lives, Lisa, a Charter tenant from Newport, told us about her experiences;
“I found the project really good as Jess from Gofal was always there if I needed to talk to her, it gave me confidence that I could go to her if I was feeling anxious.
Jess contacted Solas to help me start volunteering, and now I’m volunteering at the Family Intervention Project. It’s been really good and it’s a great opportunity to get a lot of training and experience.
A year ago I would never have had the confidence to do this, to go into training and volunteering with people I don’t know. I’m feeling a lot more confident now and happier in myself, I’m now working towards my goals.”
