More confidence and more music
At 21, Richard was referred to Foyer Futures by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), his work coach had concerns about his wellbeing as he was socially anxious, was isolated and not living to his full potential. It quickly became apparent that Richard is highly intelligent and creative, spending most of his time reading and playing guitar. He was also motivated to move forward with his life. This was helpful in supporting him, as with motivation, progress came quickly.
Richard identified some goals early on with his Development Coach that he would like to work towards:
To regularly attend 1:1 sessions with his Development Coach and to develop healthy routines
Interact with other young people in group work, initially at the cooking sessions, whilst developing life skills
Look for opportunities to volunteer and experience the world of work
Richard started by joining group sessions with other young people, taking part in cooking, arts and crafts, bowling and a trip to the theatre. An opportunity arose to apply for funding and Richard was successful and put the grant towards extra guitar lessons.
Richard applied to a local restaurant for a trial shift, to gain an insight into a workplace. Although he enjoyed this experience, he realised he was not quite ready for employment, finding the environment too fast paced. Richard was progressing with every new experience and upon reviewing his Learning Plan, he was able to identify the progress he was making himself and started to think about his next steps.
He decided to apply for a place on a Music course at a local college, to follow his passion for music and guitar. Together, with his Development Coach he planned to get him there in August: first attending REACH course, then King’s Trust Team and by that time, his guitar lessons would be coming to an end as well.
Once Richard has completed his guitar lessons, he feels confident that he will be more than ready to start the music course. He will also have gained numerous skills, increased his confidence through completing both learning courses and has a clear focus for his life.