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A step up the ladder
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Choice Support employs people who come from a huge range of backgrounds and past experiences. Adam Treeby, a mental health support worker, shares how he feels about working in social care as a young person.
When I became a mental health support worker at the start of this year, with no prior experience in social care, I knew I would be supporting others in developing the skills to live more independent lives. Little did I know just how much my own skills would develop, and how much support I would receive from those around me.
As a young person in the role of a support worker, I work alongside colleagues with far greater experience than myself - in life, social care, and mental health care in general. I’ve been guided and taught so much by my colleagues and team leader in too many ways to count. Not only this, but the nature of my role means I grow connections with the people I support, who have real, lived experience of mental health and the sector.
I quickly realised that my soft skills and attitude were far more important for my role than any qualifications or past job experience. I remember my team leader and colleagues suggesting that my experience working in hospitality highlighted my ability to work and connect with people on a personal level. It made me think about how so many young people would similarly be able to transfer their skills into making a real difference in people's lives.
One of the biggest reasons for my long-term goal of a career in mental health is my desire to help bring positive change to people’s lives. Even in these terms, my hopes have been exceeded. It’s one thing to hope to make a difference, and an entirely more profound feeling to see the change actively taking place each day, especially when you have close professional relationships with the people you support each day.
It seems that as well as having a more stable path into my desired career, I find myself in the lucky position to have even more options and opportunities than I had hoped for and, I have met so many amazing people along the way already.
I joined Choice Support with dreams of a beginning a career in mental health care. Nine months on, I can see now that I have been given so much more than simply a step onto my future career ladder.
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