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Suffolk Work Well: Employment support
What is Suffolk Work Well?
Suffolk Work Well (SWW) is here to help you gain, regain or retain employment.
We know that appropriate work, combined with the right support, is good for people’s mental health.
(Pictured: Nicki, Tony and Becks from the SWW team.)
Thanks to funding from the Community Fund, Suffolk Work Well is a free service which aims to support people with mental health challenges to:
- Get work ready
- Be enabled to gain employment or access education services
- Retain employment
Suffolk Work Well aims to provide a complete support programme that can be individually tailored to meet your needs and aspirations, and to help facilitate your transition towards employment or to retain your employment.
Where appropriate, we will meet with your organisation’s HR team to discuss workplace wellbeing and if any reasonable adjustments may be beneficial to both you and the organisation.
The service will also enable you to understand your Emotional Needs in order to stay well, and to achieve and maintain your personal goals.
“It’s given me perspective over what I can try to achieve, and helped me feel more comfortable talking about aspects of my life I struggle with.”
Suffolk Work Well attendee
What will I receive?
Support is for a 13-week period, and comprises:
- A confidential, supportive back-to-work system, including access to The Mental Health Toolkit: The Essentials workshop*, which identifies your physical and emotional needs and hence personal barriers & strengths to build emotional resilience and confidence building
- Tailored one-to-one support sessions with a dedicated Case Worker (CW), who will assist you throughout your engagement with the service and take special interest your progress. CWs will work with you to create a Personal Wellbeing Plan to help you move towards your employment goals
- Better in-work support. Your CW will work with you on a one-to-one basis to build on your Personal Wellbeing Plan, identifying coping strategies for positive mental health at work in order to stay well and retain your employment. Where necessary and agreed, your CW will collaborate with your employer
SWW is also able to provide support to those who may be (peri)menopausal wanting to retain, regain or gain employment.
*You can access The Essentials workshop by becoming a Friend of Suffolk Mind.
How do I refer?
You can refer yourself to Suffolk Work Well through the online referral form.
You can also be referred through your Jobcentre, your HR Team, your GP, support worker, care coordinator or psychiatrist who can refer on your behalf via the online referral form.
If you would like to access Suffolk Work Well you must:
- Be over the age of 18
- Have expressed an interest in seeking employment, or already be in employment
- Be able to attend regular support sessions
- Be ready and able to positively engage in training, volunteering/work experience and work preparation activities
- Reside within Suffolk
Please note: we review a service user’s engagement regularly. If they are not engaging in the service, they may be discharged.
If you have any queries about the Suffolk Work Well service, please email us.
Who our Support Workers have helped
“[Female, 25] came to SWW while unemployed, suffering with intense social anxiety, and unable to read well. We worked together on self-esteem and confidence, job hunting support, and connected her with ReadEasy who continue to support her with reading.
“She is now working full time, learning to drive, and is having regular therapy sessions to work through her past trauma. It’s a total transformation from the individual I initially spoke to, and she is now confident about what she wants to do in her future.”
“After referring to SWW, [male, 63] is like a whole new person. His colleagues have noticed how he is more confident, more talkative and even joins in with a bit of banter too.
“He was in a very dark place when he reached out to us. With our support through this difficult journey, he feels like he is now an even better version of himself than he has ever been, and could not be more grateful.”
“[Female, 21] self-referred to SWW as someone who was working part-time from home, suffering from anxiety, and unable to leave the house alone. She also refused to talk on the phone due to a lack of confidence. I asked if she would like to try a phone call with me – she agreed, and the first call went so well that we continued to communicate by telephone.
“She is now able to leave the house on her own, meeting new people and doing online courses to find out what really interests her, so she can choose what career path to go down. She thanked me for gently pushing her to take a phone call, and is loving life more than she ever thought she would.”
We value your feedback
If you’d like to let us know your experience of using a Suffolk Mind service, including ways we can improve, please complete this form.
Our team regularly reviews feedback to help us improve the support services that we offer.
We value your feedback
If you’d like to let us know your experience of using a Suffolk Mind service, including ways we can improve, please complete this form.
Our team regularly reviews feedback to help us improve the support services that we offer.
