Team stories Eleanor transcript

Gary: APM took me in and I met a lovely lady, Eleanor, and what a difference they made. She was a very understanding to start off with. She took it very slowly with me and helped me move towards a new direction in life. The understanding was so important. It really was. She started getting me the odd job interview and whether I got the job or not, I mean, it was just fantastic to just go out there and, you know, feel that I had the confidence again to do that.

Eleanor: We really did help Gary to just keep coming out of his shell more because he loved to have a laugh, loved to have a joke, would talk to anyone. He was so polite and grateful, so I really just kept encouraging that every appointment, to believe in himself. And then at the end of it all, we ended up finding Gary something that he'd done before and could easily walk back into again and felt really happy and confident about it.

We've got a great employer connection here and we just - having looked at his strengths, we realised that he could be quite a good fit because the employer is so supportive. Gary didn't have to go far from the community he's already become used to and in love with, really. So, we just thought, ‘hey, let's get him to meet and put his old skills back to use again.’ And from there it's just blossomed. 

Seeing Gary's change has really impacted me. It's one of those ones that was a bit of a tearjerker for me. I was right there with him the whole way, when he rang me and said that he'd got the job and he was loving it, we both choked up together. So, it was just, yeah, it's been such an amazing thing to see him change and have that confidence and just feel so warmed by it all. It is why I do what I do. It's incredibly rewarding to make that impact on people's lives.