Get Set for something new in Hastings.
New work and wellbeing project launches in Hastings
A new project for people who want to work, volunteer or learn something new is launching in Hastings this month. Get Set will provide support for disabled people and people who live with a health condition or impairment so they have a range of tools to achieve their goals.
Get Set offers long term support, with a range of drop in classes, a weekly ‘job club café’ with phones and computers available to use free of charge, and one to one sessions with the experienced team. It also supports people to feel more self confident, and believe in what they can do, rather than what they can’t.
Over 100 people will be able to join the project, which will run for 12 months.
“We are so excited to be launching in the Hastings area after working successfully here for the last six years. We have built very strong relationships with groups and employers who are supportive and keen to make a difference and we have changed the lives of many participants”.
Get Set courses are designed to give people the skills needed to get into training, volunteering and work: how to use computers to look for and apply for jobs, how to use digital resources such as Dropbox, how to write a CV and letters.
But equally important is the emphasis placed on developing people’s self confidence and self belief, as well as enabling them to manage their health conditions at work and be able to talk to their employer about their needs.
Angela continues:
“We support people every step of the way with confidence building, increasing self-esteem and resilience, overcoming negative thinking, action planning and goal setting, digital skills, employability skills and tools to manage the impact of their health both in work and in their lives in general.
“Participants create Wellness Action Plans, which help them identify how to manage their health at work and understand how to update these should their health or other circumstances change.
“We don’t just focus on getting someone into work, but supporting people in all aspects of their lives to ensure work will be sustainable and rewarding in the long term.
“We also advise employers on what constitutes a reasonable adjustment, something that can sound a bit frightening at the start, but which can actually be really easy to to. And this opens up recruitment to a bigger pool of talented and dedicated staff, who just happened to be disabled”.
“I have been on a lot of programmes but none like this. On the others they treat you as a number on a list. Never has anyone addressed my health, listened to my fears and barriers never mind addressed them, but that is what happened here and that made all the difference. “Because of this I am now in a place where I can and am looking for work and know exactly what I can do.”
Referalls to Get Set Hastings open on Monday 6 March 2023. Anyone who is disabled or lives with a long term health condition (including mental health conditions or who are neurodiverse) can apply apply directly. Organisations can also refer people to the team.
Contact Angela Graham on 07921 453183 or email work@possabilitypeople.org.uk.