FEATURE
Satisfaction – Step Forward Tees Valley has helped more than 4,400 people . now estimated to be £ 61.8m . That equates to a huge boost to our local community as benefit claims have been reduced , earnings through employment are reinvested into the Tees Valley economy and hospital and GP appointments are reduced . With the use of mental health services also falling , a massive £ 27m of social value has been realised .
Taking a holistic approach , the programme worked with a large number of external partners and stakeholders – each with their own specialism – to provide a wraparound service for participants and ensure that each individual was treated as such .
This tailored approach meant each participant could progress on their own personal journey towards a successful outcome .
Every participant was paired with one of Step Forward Tees Valley ’ s navigators , who worked in one of the programme ’ s hubs across the area .
With hubs in Darlington , Middlesbrough , Hartlepool , Stockton and Redcar & Cleveland , navigators based in these locations had a real understanding of local communities and the opportunities – and sometimes lack of opportunities – in these boroughs .
Take Terrace , for example . As a result of an injury to his leg , Terrace was no longer able to work in his previous career on a car and engine part production line . But it wasn ’ t just the loss of his job that affected him .
“ A lot of things happened at once . I had an operation and was out of work . My long-term relationship broke down
“ As a proven partnership with a track record of success , Step Forward Tees Valley hopes to be in a prime position to continue to support people in the area to achieve their goals and move into employment and training .”
and I had to move away , which took me away from my son . I was really down and depressed . But I ’ m a proud person and I kept things bottled up .
“ I was actively looking for a new job and I heard that Step Forward Tees Valley could help with things like that . Rachel , my navigator in the local hub , saw how emotional I was in myself – I hadn ’ t realised how bad it all was .”
Working with Terrace , Rachel was able to place him on several courses to improve his chances of gaining new employment and also helped him reduce his feelings of isolation by helping him become involved in activities and workshops with other people .
“ I did health and safety , first aid , the full programme of courses ,” Terrace said . “ It rebuilt my confidence and it ’ s given me friends and good relationships with people and I got a job .
“ I ’ ve been working for a year now . I ’ m working at Aldi ’ s warehouse as a picker and checker . I ’ m responsible for making sure they get the right products and in the right amounts . I like my work – I ’ m up and about early !
“ I wouldn ’ t have been able to do it without Step Forward Tees Valley – it was a godsend . I only went in to update my CV but updated my life instead !”
The partnerships that comprise Step Forward Tees Valley are the biggest reason for its success over the past seven years .
Working with organisations and charities that have unrivalled knowledge and experience in the areas in which they work means that participants with complex and multiple barriers can access any one of these services , rather than having to find a service themselves or end up on a waiting list .
At the end of the programme , Step Forward Tees Valley comprised 12 partners , but it has had valuable working relationships with more than 20 different organisations since 2016 .
Richard , from Darlington , was a participant with Step Forward Tees Valley and had multiple barriers that were stopping him from moving forward with his life .
Working with his navigator , he was supported by Morrison Trust to gain qualifications in retail and first aid . As well as the confidence he gained from this , he also got grief counselling and attended confidence-building sessions and sports sessions at Darlington ’ s Dolphin Centre , which had positive impacts on his physical and mental health . >
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