After a difficult year that included homelessness, temporary accommodation and a serious accident, Kelly is now taking positive steps towards a career in healthcare after completing 30 hours of volunteering with Imperial Health Charity at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.
Kelly first came across Grow through a conversation at a local food bank, where one of the volunteers suggested she speak to Grow’s Iryna about the support available.
“One of the ladies that runs the food bank thought Grow might be something I would be interested in. Then Iryna invited me to a meeting in Kingston where Grow is based.
I went along to the meeting and they were talking about what Grow is about, what they do and the different courses you can go on to get trained up to get into work. I was really interested in the healthcare course and getting into work in healthcare.”
At the time, Kelly was trying to rebuild her life after a particularly challenging period.
“I’ve had the year from hell. My son and I were made homeless. I had an accident and ended up in hospital. We’ve had about five different temporary accommodations in the past year and just getting moved about so much. My mum also died three months ago, which was another traumatic event I was going through. I’m just desperate to get into work now and I’m really passionate about getting a job.”
Although Kelly had spent much of her career working in hospitality, she had always been interested in healthcare but never thought it was a realistic option.
“I’ve always been interested in it, but because I haven’t been to uni or done anything at college to do with healthcare, I didn’t think it was possible. I didn’t really know about it until I got in touch with Grow.”
Through Grow, Kelly was introduced to Imperial Health Charity’s volunteering programme and successfully secured a placement at St Mary’s Hospital. During her placement she has been shadowing healthcare assistants, learning about different roles and gaining valuable experience in a healthcare environment.
To secure her volunteering placement, Kelly attended a group interview organised by Imperial Health Charity. Participants were given scenarios to discuss and work through together. Kelly believes her response helped her stand out and led to her being selected for the placement.
Throughout her placement, Kelly received support from her Work Coach, Maryam, at Imperial Health Charity, who helped her recognise the skills and experience she already had and how they could transfer into a healthcare role.
“Maryam’s taught me that everything that I’ve done in my life is a transferable skill for the healthcare position.
I’ve got my hospitality experience, which is a transferable skill. I’ve also done four years in beauty therapy college studying anatomy, physiology and health and safety.
I’m a very empathetic person. I love helping people and it’s just something that I really want to do.”
Alongside her volunteering placement, Kelly continues to receive support from both her Work Coach at Imperial Health Charity and the Grow team.
Having spent many years in employment without needing to search and apply for jobs online, Kelly says that digital skills remain one of her biggest challenges.
“I haven’t had to look for a job for 30 years. I’ve always just walked into work and I really need help doing stuff online.”
Grow is continuing to support Kelly with her confidence, job search and digital skills so that she can take the next step towards employment.
Now that she has completed her volunteering hours, Kelly plans to continue volunteering while she applies for healthcare roles.
“I’ve spoken to my Work Coach at Imperial Health Charity and told them I’m going to carry on volunteering until I get a job because I don’t want to distance myself from the environment.”
Volunteering has provided much more than work experience for Kelly. It has helped her discover a new career direction, recognise the value of her existing skills and build confidence about what comes next.
With support from Grow and Imperial Health Charity, she is now looking forward to turning that experience into employment.