Curve ball moments …..

Each participant is different, bringing their own unique experience and it’s really important that this is at the base of our support, what works well for some does not with others. And what works for an individual also might change over time often depending on an array of factors.
This scenario is demonstrated really well by the experience of one of our participants; she had been working with us for a year and had come such a long way from the anxious person who signed up with HeadsUp. She was keen to move forward in life, but her social anxiety was causing difficulties. With support from her Peer Support Worker (PSW) and her own determination, she managed to progress to a point where she felt able to sign up for an Adult Community Learning course to build on self-confidence and to learn new skills to manage her anxieties. She also attended our HeadsUp workshops and engaged with others in the group with ease and with that determined mind-set she started a land-based course – her great ideas were coming to fruition!
On the arrival of the pandemic our participant felt that she didn’t need support for a while and she was even offering her own support to others, but over time this changed and she contacted her PSW explaining that she did not feel great and didn’t want to engage. Now one of the fantastic things about the relationship that our PSW’s build with their participants is that they often know them well enough to give a friendly nudge if a ‘wobble’ rears its head! This was certainly one of those occasions as when a job appeared that our PSW knew she was perfect for, she sent it over and it was the encouragement that was needed as in a short space of time members of the team had helped to tailor her CV and an application was sent.
Sometimes things appear that help us to take a different turn and as a PSW it’s a privilege to be a part of a curve ball moment like this.