Lucy’s Story – Volunteering

Lucy began engaging with New Directions in March 2022, coming to us as a referral from Loftus JCP, aged in her mid-20’s and had recently finished a six-month Kickstart position with Hunley Hall, which is the only paid experience she has had. Lucy has a strong academic history which includes a degree in Concept Art (2:1) Lucy. She lives with her family due to illness and helps where possible. Lucy is on the Autism spectrum and due to her circumstances was looking for work that offered around 25 hours per week.  

When Lucy came to us she wasn’t sure which direction she wanted to go in. In her spare time, she streams and creates items for an ETSY shop and we spoke about exploring self-employment within these areas as they do possess earning potential, but this wasn’t something we pursued as Lucy wished for these to remain a hobby. After a bit of discussion and using various career identifying tools, we decided to look into digital marketing and reached out to several different local companies about work experience, although the companies loved Lucy’s talents, they didn’t have capacity to take anyone on in a creative position. Lucy did not let this get her down and as time moved on, we decided to explore other jobs as a short-term goal. We tailored Lucy’s CV to meet different job sector requirements and created a covering letter. Lucy quickly secured an interview with a local bakery but unfortunately was unsuccessful. Using this as motivation we carried on and a position came up with Cleveland Technologies to work as a product assembler with hours that suited her circumstances perfectly. Lucy sent in her application and was invited for an informal interview. Lucy did a great job demonstrating her enthusiasm, skills and abilities, resulting in her being offered the job! 

Whilst working with New Directions, Lucy has grown in confidence, experience and knowledge. Through hard work, trust in her advisor and a willingness to engage, Lucy achieved her goal of finding paid employment. The support doesn’t stop here, we funded a monthly pass for Lucy to get to and from work until she receives her first pay and will continue to offer in work support for six months.