A Hull woman has overcome the grief of losing her son and mother to gain new skills and find work helping others make a fresh start.
As a mother, and a carer for her own mother, Dawn Cassar had given up the chances of a career or further education. However, after tragically losing them both, she came through the subsequent depression to find something which would give her the skills and confidence to make a new path for herself.
The former shop worker, 48, says, “I was obviously in a very bad place and often felt like I didn’t have the skills I needed to be able to move on and do something with my life. I just didn’t feel like I was good for anything and I often thought ‘What’s the point in trying? I just won’t bother’.”
However, after taking the step of visiting her local job centre she was enrolled as a volunteer with the Hull Homeless and Rootless Project (Hull HARP). Dawn explains, “It was a huge leap for me, psychologically, getting back into the world. I just didn’t believe I had it in me and to be honest I was terrified. But that soon changed.The staff were immediately supportive and it was at the centre that I started gaining the skills I needed to get back into work.”
Having never used a computer before Dawn admits she was nervous about learning the basics, she says, “To be honest I was petrified of computers, I just didn’t have the first clue. However the staff encouraged me to just have a go, and I eventually started to get more confident.”
Kelly Jackson, Volunteering and Community Manager for Hull HARP believes these skills can really make the difference to someone’s life. She says, “Because of the nature of the clients that come through our centre, essentially 100% are unemployed and most of them come in needing basic skills to make the journey out of their current situations. Computer and internet skills are increasingly essential to everyday life, especially to finding work, so we try to give everyone the confidence to give it a try.”
After gaining these new skills and spending several months as a volunteer at the centre, Dawn became a casual member of staff at the centre and has now progressed to full-time employment as a housing support worker and she’s rightfully proud of her journey. She says, “It feels fantastic, I’ve gone from having no confidence or skills and being in a very bad place to working full time, and I never would have been able to do it without the skills I was able to gain at the centre and the support of the staff.”
Kelly too, has seen a remarkable change in Dawn. She says, “From the woman that first came to the centre to the person she is now, Dawn is almost unrecognisable. The change is amazing and I think Dawn is a true inspiration to others. She proves how the right skills can bring about confidence and visa versa, to really turn someone’s life around.”
It’s not just at work that Dawn has put these new skills to use. “Well I do everything online now. My banking, shopping, emails! I’ve gone from being completely terrified to not being able to wait to get onto a computer!”
And Dawn doesn’t see her journey stopping here. She says, “I’d love to make the next step up the career ladder and become a resettlement worker, that’s my next goal. Coming to the centre and bettering myself has made such a difference to my life, I just want to carry on helping other’s get their lives back on track.”
As a mother, and a carer for her own mother, Dawn Cassar had given up the chances of a career or further education. However, after tragically losing them both, she came through the subsequent depression to find something which would give her the skills and confidence to make a new path for herself.
The former shop worker, 48, says, “I was obviously in a very bad place and often felt like I didn’t have the skills I needed to be able to move on and do something with my life. I just didn’t feel like I was good for anything and I often thought ‘What’s the point in trying? I just won’t bother’.”
However, after taking the step of visiting her local job centre she was enrolled as a volunteer with the Hull Homeless and Rootless Project (Hull HARP). Dawn explains, “It was a huge leap for me, psychologically, getting back into the world. I just didn’t believe I had it in me and to be honest I was terrified. But that soon changed.The staff were immediately supportive and it was at the centre that I started gaining the skills I needed to get back into work.”
Having never used a computer before Dawn admits she was nervous about learning the basics, she says, “To be honest I was petrified of computers, I just didn’t have the first clue. However the staff encouraged me to just have a go, and I eventually started to get more confident.”
Kelly Jackson, Volunteering and Community Manager for Hull HARP believes these skills can really make the difference to someone’s life. She says, “Because of the nature of the clients that come through our centre, essentially 100% are unemployed and most of them come in needing basic skills to make the journey out of their current situations. Computer and internet skills are increasingly essential to everyday life, especially to finding work, so we try to give everyone the confidence to give it a try.”
After gaining these new skills and spending several months as a volunteer at the centre, Dawn became a casual member of staff at the centre and has now progressed to full-time employment as a housing support worker and she’s rightfully proud of her journey. She says, “It feels fantastic, I’ve gone from having no confidence or skills and being in a very bad place to working full time, and I never would have been able to do it without the skills I was able to gain at the centre and the support of the staff.”
Kelly too, has seen a remarkable change in Dawn. She says, “From the woman that first came to the centre to the person she is now, Dawn is almost unrecognisable. The change is amazing and I think Dawn is a true inspiration to others. She proves how the right skills can bring about confidence and visa versa, to really turn someone’s life around.”
It’s not just at work that Dawn has put these new skills to use. “Well I do everything online now. My banking, shopping, emails! I’ve gone from being completely terrified to not being able to wait to get onto a computer!”
And Dawn doesn’t see her journey stopping here. She says, “I’d love to make the next step up the career ladder and become a resettlement worker, that’s my next goal. Coming to the centre and bettering myself has made such a difference to my life, I just want to carry on helping other’s get their lives back on track.”
