Many of our clients have been out of work for months, years, or even decades. Despite their skills and experience, employers are often reluctant to take a chance on someone who has, or had, issues with drugs or alcohol. The stereotypes and stigma impact our clients every day, and they are substantial barriers to employment.
At WithYou we run an Individual Placement and Support (IPS) programme, which supports people who have challenges with drugs or alcohol into employment. Our employment specialists work directly with employers – finding clients with the right skills, attending meetings, and supporting them to solve any concerns before they become issues. As a result, the employers we work with say they have reduced staff turnover, and that they’re seen as fair and respected organisations in the community.
In December an OHID report found that more than half of IPS clients successfully obtained employment during a follow-up period of up to 18 months. Four out of five clients who achieved employment sustained their employment for 13 weeks or more, and there was a clear association between positive alcohol and drug treatment outcomes and successful employment.
These findings match what we see on the ground. When I work with our clients on their career path, I see the rewards they reap from having a job. They tell us they have greater independence, appreciate the steady wage, and enjoy the opportunity to meet new people and have new experiences. All of these benefits also help them to maintain their recovery journey – giving them purpose, and wider support systems.
A client told me recently that getting her job has had a huge impact on her life. ‘I love it,’ she said. ‘I can remember getting the job and feeling so proud. It literally had me standing up taller. I could feel my shoulders back, and my head and my chin up. I could really tell the difference of just how it made me feel the next day.’
It was ‘that confidence to walk in places and know that you can do these things on your own’, she told me. ‘It started off doing my CV in March. My IPS support worker said, “We’ll get your CV done, and then we’ll get a cover letter sorted out”. And then it was just one thing after another. It wasn’t until August that we were preparing for an interview. But that gradual build-up was what I needed – I wouldn’t have even contemplated going for that job if we hadn’t gone all around the houses beforehand.’
At the first interview she’d been offered the job there and then, ‘which was phenomenal, but that’s because my worker had passed his knowledge of me on. He set it all up as well. He’d been the one to encourage me to do that particular interview. After that, I was going for so many interviews. It might be difficult the first time, but it gets easier the more you practise. I kept going for interviews and now I have a second job as well. If someone is thinking of joining an IPS programme, I’d say just 100 per cent go for it. Even if you don’t end up getting a job through it, you’ll benefit just from that interaction.
‘With my worker, it’s very much about what’s best for that person, that individual,’ she continued. ‘I can trust him and know that he’s got my best interests at heart. He would never let me get away with saying I’m just a cleaner. I wanted to do other things first, and then in the end, I just needed the job without the pressure of having to think about it too much. I felt I should just get something rather than be looking for the perfect thing that might never happen. So it had a stepping stone kind of feeling to it, rather than being thrown in at the deep end.’
If you’re interested in learning more about our IPS programme, you can find out here
Vicky Lomas is national employment lead at WithYou