April 27, 2023

Hello. I’m Lee and I’m an Employment Liaison Officer for Step Forward into Volunteering and Employment.

I just wanted to talk a little and share my story in the hope some of what I say may resonate with both employers open to investing in people for the benefit of both parties, and individuals on their own journey back into employment. I hope to be one small voice in the larger drive to get people talking and being more accepting of individuals with mental health experiences, severe or otherwise. If sharing my personal experiences helps in this, it is more than worth it.

I wanted to work with Step Forward because I have lived mental health experience myself. The turning point for me, many years ago now, was the realisation I could turn my experiences into a positive force, and not a negative one. For myself, the way to do that was use my experiences as a direct line to a career choice.

It wasn’t easy, and it didn’t happen overnight. I had some help from an employment focused organisation initially just to give me that little boost to get started. My first interview also didn’t lead to a job offer. It was, however, a start. In keeping with myself wanting to turn any negatives into a positive, I communicated with the employer for some feedback and directly addressed that in myself.

The route open to me to tackle the barriers I faced was to volunteer with a Social Inclusion service, that gave me more confidence boosts as well as working experience that would benefit the job I was aiming for. It wasn’t lengthy either, but a very rewarding few months. When I felt the time was right, I reapplied for the same role I was previously unsuccessful in, and this time I succeeded in achieving a relief post which eventually turned into permanent contracted hours. I was totally open about my mental health during this process, sharing my desire to use my experiences as a good thing.

My employer giving me that chance has made all the difference to my life – and I’m appreciative of that and still work with them almost a decade later, now as part of a partnership with other organisations. I have been given career progression opportunities like my role now. Although everyone will be different, the reality for me and my employer was that any reasonable adjustments were incredibly minor. It was mainly just an awareness as often just the knowledge someone can discuss with their line manager (for example) any challenges they are facing and how to address them will make all the difference.

That investment of time my employer made for me was returned in full – they have retained an employee long term and so avoided the costly process of hiring and training new candidates. I am left in a place where I feel a genuine loyalty to my employer, they deserve it. That is no doubt reflected in the work I give them, although to what extent is up to them to say!

I’m passionate now about helping others on their own journey into sustained employment and/or volunteering as a stepping stone or end goal, and hopefully showing employers they’ve got some fantastic human resources they are barely tapping into at the moment due to unfair preconceptions and stigma around mental health. Both personally and professionally I can, hand on heart, say that valuing applicants with mental health experiences will in return add value to your organisation as well as improving the well-being of individuals within the communities you operate in.