Craig's story
Craig’s background in the Royal Navy is evident when you speak
to him. He is focused, eloquent and personable. Following several
years service at sea, Craig decided he needed a new challenge and
more recently looked after children in care. Working in care homes
with youngsters who have been abused and neglected requires
boundless energy and 100% dedication, which Craig willingly brought
to the job.
Tragically, Craig’s mum died in 2007. Trying to come to terms
with this loss and providing emotional support for his father and
brother meant Craig was increasingly having to divide his energy. A
short time later, he resigned from the care home, explaining that
it wasn’t fair on the children when he couldn’t completely focus on
the job.
That was a year ago. Craig never imagined that with the start of
the recession a new job would be so hard to find. Recently however,
while searching the internet, he came across the Turn2us helpline number and decided to find out
about options for retraining. “Talking to the Turn2us adviser was
like speaking to an old friend,” he reports. “She had lots of time
to listen to my situation and provide me with extremely useful
advice.” The adviser was able to give Craig the contact
details of three charities which could help him get back into
work.
Craig was keen to do the legwork himself and wrote letters to
the charities. A few weeks later he received a positive response
from three funds. The Royal Naval Benevolent Fund and the Royal
British Legion are able to provide food vouchers for Craig. This
means the money he would have spent on food can go towards covering
the rent payments. “I really like where I live and I’m so pleased
not to have to move out while I’m looking for work,” he says. In
addition the Advisory Discretionary Fund at the Jobcentre Plus
(link opens in a new window) have been able to cover the
£250 needed for Craig to train in security work. “I’ve done some
security work before,” he says, “but most places require an
Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence now and having this
qualification will really improve my chances.”
Craig describes how one call to Turn2us has changed demotivation
into a feeling of resilience. “I was very impressed with the
Turn2us helpline and website,” he reports, “and so grateful for the
information and assistance they have given me.”
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