Nurturing Keith grows a whole new career

AFTER a lifetime spent battling rheumatoid arthritis and 15 years living on incapacity benefits, Keith Atkinson had abandoned any hope of working again – until he got involved with Shaw Trust’s Grangefield Gardening Project.

He arrived as a volunteer but soon secured a 24-hours per week support worker position for the national employment charity, playing a key role in helping provide training and work opportunities for people with learning disabilities on the three-acre site in Bishopton Road.

“I’d given up all hope of ever going back to work again, but this doesn’t feel like work; I’ve never had such a good job,” says Keith, aged 53, from Ormesby, Middlesborough.

And for staff at the Stockton project, his involvement has been a revelation. “From the first day he walked in through the gates, Keith has been a total asset to Shaw Trust and the success of the project,” says Emma Nelson, Development Officer for the charity, which helps people achieve work and independence.

“Keith’s story shows that it’s possible to go back to work even after the longest gap and sometimes through the most unlikely avenue, such as volunteering.”

Originally a plater in the shipbuilding industry, Keith’s career began to go downhill as rheumatoid arthritis severely affected his hands and mobility. He took a succession of lighter and lighter jobs, until he was finally forced to give up work all together.

He freely admits he had no interest in gardening and credits his wife Sheila with the suggestion to get an allotment so that he had something to do.

For 15 years he spent most of his days tending his patch until his condition made it too difficult. Then he saw a Shaw Trust advert appealing for volunteers at the Grangefield Project and the seeds of a new career were sown.

The project has 30 clients, who are given practical on-site training in growing and selling plants to the public. They also have access to Basic Skills and IT Training, including Learn Direct courses, while the staff also deliver a Personal Development Programme, which has been designed especially for people with learning disabilities.
In addition to the attending clients, 10 are employed at the garden centre and on the garden maintenance contracts, while others have work placements elsewhere.

As a volunteer, Keith was helping out in the poly tunnels and tending plants alongside cli-ents, but he proved such a natural that when the job for support worker arose, he was en-couraged to apply for the job.

“Keith has shown such commitment to the project, establishing a nurturing working relationship with all of our clients, who range in age from from 18 to 50 plus. He is such a valuable member of the team, and if he hadn’t become a volunteer for us, we would never have known about him,” explains Emma.

Keith says having a paid job again is wonderful, but the best part is seeing the clients bloom under his care.

“When I was first out of work, I did try to find other jobs, but after years of being told you’re too old or you’re not quite right, you get despondent, depressed and eventually give up,” he says of the dark days.

“I never dreamed I’d get a job with Shaw Trust. I’m thoroughly enjoying my new career. It’s very rewarding to see how people progress and it has given me back my confidence and faith in life.”

People who would like to volunteer their services at the Grangefield Gardening Project can call 01642 670731 or drop in at 196a Bishopton Road.

* Photograph available on request

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. For further details please contact Shaw Trust Press Officer Samantha Jobber on 01225 716 300 or 07595 214 649. Or you can email Samantha.Jobber@shaw-trust.org.uk

2. Shaw Trust is a national charity, formed in 1982, which helps people with disability or disadvantage to find work and achieve independence. We do this not only by delivering government programmes, but also through our own self-funded initiatives, and by cam-paigning to change attitudes at all levels. Across the UK more than 1,400 staff now oversee a diverse range of more than 200 projects.

3. If you would like to support the work that Shaw Trust does to help disabled and disadvantaged people find work and achieve independence please visit our website
http://www.shaw-trust.org.uk/support_us

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