Rozina, a family support worker at Yeading School runs Community House, a space for school parents and the local community to come together and get support from one another. Following the pandemic Rozina became aware that many of the parents who were coming to Community House were struggling with confidence and financial issues and were in need of more support. The rising cost of living and a recent change to the cap on Universal Credit had further exacerbated their anxiety and many of the parents she supports were actively looking to get a job to help support their family.
Rozina reached out to her local Adult Education Centre who put her in touch with Saeema at the GRoW Programme to see if they could offer support to parents in helping them raise their confidence and to equip them with any employability skills they were lacking.
Rozina said; “At Community House we are dedicated to helping people from the community move forward in their lives and we offer a place for them to come together, meet and discuss their worries and concerns and get support from one another. When I spoke with Saeema at GRoW and she explained what the programme offers I invited her to come and speak at one of our Coffee Mornings. Many of the women we support face challenges to employment such as language barriers or not having worked before but GRoW are experienced in working with people from all backgrounds, with a special focus on supporting women, and Saeema was able to get a lot of engagement. At our first Coffee Morning with GRoW we had 25 women enrol who were interested in getting a job which was a great success.
The ladies who joined the GRoW Programme were given a wide range of support, from job searching workshops, help to build their CVs and interview practice as well as help in building their confidence and prepare for work. It has had a very positive impact with some of the parents already securing jobs or training. I have one parent who has 5 children who has joined the GRoW Programme and I saw her recently and she was so happy – it is making a real difference to the confidence of the parents I support and it is great to see.”
Rozina is a regular face at Community House and is continuing to enrol more parents on to the GRoW programme so that parents can receive one to one support. which she says is needed more now than ever due to the cost of living crisis. She is hopeful that Community House will be able to continue working with GRoW to give this important support to parents and the extended community to help more people improve their lives.