“The team make you believe that there are ways to overcome challenges and get into education and employment, even as someone with experience of care and the criminal justice system.” 

At 27, Patrick self-referred to Merton’s Towards Employment Team after growing up in the care system and having been known to offender services since the age of 13.

Whilst working with the Towards Employment Team, Patrick undertook voluntary work to build his experience and was directed to additional financial support from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for a relevant training course, in which he excelled. After completing his course, the Towards Employment Team helped him apply for a paid position, and he eventually secured a part-time job.

Shortly after starting his new role, Patrick was arrested for a crime he had committed before reaching out to the Towards Employment Team. Throughout his sentence, the Towards Employment Team have maintained contact with Patrick, advocating for his transfer to a Category D prison to access day release for work. Eventually, he was moved to a lower-category prison and now works five days a week while he waits to complete his sentence.

Previously, Patrick had felt that he never had anything or anyone to be ‘on the outside’ for, but that changed after starting to get his life back on track. He said that for the first time in his adult life, he had a real future and wanted his child to have a different upbringing to the one he had experienced.

Patrick’s story is a prime example of how widening access to services like these can have life-altering effects on those who weren’t given the strongest start to life.

About the UKSPF People and Skills Programme

The People and Skills programme, led by the South London Partnership, is an employment support initiative seeking to help people from South London re-enter the workforce and find new, good jobs. Funded by the national government’s UKSPF (UK Shared Prosperity Fund), six projects are being delivered across our boroughs of Croydon, Kingston, Merton, Richmond and Sutton to support local residents. Find out more