It was around March 2013 when I first engaged with The Winch and met my Promise Worker. I was with the job centre and it was very bad at the time. I was frustrated, couldn’t keep control of my emotions and felt depressed and I wasn’t enjoying the courses which the job centre provided. It was probably one of the worst years I’ve ever had in my life.

I started to meet with Promise Worker on a regular basis, I live locally so we met either for coffee somewhere or here at The Winch and it was a big help to have her around at the time. I was depressed at so many points and they told me about these character strengths and how I could work on it and it did help after some time. We got to a point where we were really looking at my grit, self-control and what I can do to improve my weaknesses.

“We got to a point where we were really looking at my grit, self-control and what I can do to improve my weaknesses.”

I feel much better than I did way back then and after time I got into doing other activities, like a table tennis tournament and playing outdoor tennis which helped make everything more fun and helped me to feel happy again. That’s not to say I didn’t have tough days, some days I’d turn up and I’d be completely angry about something and I couldn’t control my emotions but my Promise Worker was always there and would always listen. She helped with practical things too, like my passport application which I needed to find a job and motivating me to get my tennis coaching qualification.

“I’m in a better place now and was confident enough to apply for a store detective/security guard role which I’ve held for the past few months and passed my training with excellence.”

I feel much better than I did way back then and after time I got into doing other activities, like a table tennis tournament and playing outdoor tennis which helped make everything more fun and helped me to feel happy again. That’s not to say I didn’t have tough days, some days I’d turn up and I’d be completely angry about something and I couldn’t control my emotions but my Promise Worker was always there and would always listen. She helped with practical things too, like my passport application which I needed to find a job and motivating me to get my tennis coaching qualification.