First resort drop-ins  Latest

 

‘FIRST RESORT’ – A ‘tool’ for churches to support those who have been made redundant, are facing redundancy or an uncertain future.

 

       

Churches will associate WORKCARE with providing Chaplains in the workplace. However, with the on-going economic downturn we realised that our ‘chaplaincy’ service needs to be offered to a ‘wider audience’, especially those facing or experiencing the loss of their job. ‘First Resort’ offers such a service, meeting in local church buildings and working in partnership with statutory organisations, eg JobCentre Plus and Nextstep.

The WORKCARE team includes Kay Aldersley, Revd Paul Simmonds and the Revd Malcolm Fife and is led by the Revd Helga Cornell. Here are three of our recent projects.

 

St Thomas Longford and Salem Baptist Church, Longford:

The WorkCare team and the local ministers from St Thomas’ and Salem Baptist Church met to consider how the ‘First Resort’ model might support local people who were facing redundancy or had already lost their jobs.  An informal ‘drop in’ event took place in April and again in July 2009 where people were given an opportunity to talk about their own experiences, needs and hopes for the future.  The events offered the skills of the chaplaincy and ministry teams in offering a ‘listening ear’ and ‘employment advice’Longford Drop in centred around the experiences of those who attended.  Feedback was good and it was encouraging to learn a few weeks down the line that for some people their situations had improved and new jobs had been found.

 

Ricoh Shopping Centre, Longford:

The WORKCARE team realised that we had only reached just a handful of Longford people but that many usedthe ‘local shop’, ie Tesco’s Superstore just around the corner!  With the co-operation of the management at the Ricoh Shopping Centre, promotional space was allocated to us for two days in early September 2009. WORKCARE realised that in order to offer up-to-date information we needed to work with local partners and Nextstep offered information, advice and guidance on searching for work, training courses, CV writing and completion of job application forms.  Over the two days twenty people ‘signed up’ to work with a Nextstep Advisor and in addition received information about the role WORKCARE The Ricoh gave us an opportunity to speak to people in their everyday situations and not only those who were personally affected by lack of employment but also parents, friends and relatives of people who were finding life difficult.

 Lost you job leaflet

St Paul’s Church, Stockingford, Nuneaton:

St Paul’s Church has recently been re-ordered and now offers an excellent range of ‘community space’.  St Paul’s Church is in the heart of the Stockingford community and already runs a wide range of community activities for all ages including Brownies, Lunch Club, Carers’ Group and Parents and Tots to name but a few.  WORKCARE offered a ‘First Resort’ Event in September at St Paul’s which was very successful.  For some people they valued a ‘listening ear’, for others they experienced the opportunity to spend time with JobCentre Plus and Nextstep advisors.  The event was very well received and the feedback from those who attended was extremely positive.  Comments were that the event ‘buzzed’ and for some, time to share with a ‘complete stranger’ was a useful and valuable experience. We ended the morning continuing to talk over a sandwich lunch. The plan is to make this a regular event as a service to the community.

 

For more information WorkCare is on 024 7652 1338, Administrator: Pauline Caldicott.

WORKCARE 

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