A vocational rehabilitation programme in the North East aimed at getting those living with a brain injury back into working life has been resurrected by a community charity.
Headway Tyneside worked closely with the NHS and fellow charities, Headway County Durham and Headway Darlington & District, to ensure the programme could continue following last year’s closure of Newcastle-based providers, Momentum Skills.
‘Headway to Work’ is the newly-branded service which will support around 14 people per year living in Durham and Darlington. Each participant will be individually assessed by therapists to gain an understanding of their difficulties, enabling the team to offer personalised support throughout the programme.
The training focuses on improving self-management skills such as self-care, goal setting, productivity, sleep and fatigue management, as well as technical skills such as IT and literacy. The final phase of the programme will involve voluntary placements for participants to ensure they feel comfortable, confident and have the relevant vocational skills before seeking paid employment.
In the future, the group hopes to deliver the ‘Headway to Work’ programme across more parts of the North East, within Gateshead, Newcastle, South and North Tyneside.
Alistair McDonald, chairman at Headway Tyneside, explains: “We all know how incredibly difficult the past 18 months have been. Those with disabilities or long-term health conditions have been especially vulnerable. The Momentum programme was well received and helped lots of individuals with a brain injury plan a route into employment, education or training and it’s fantastic that we can continue to deliver this type of service.
“The service will now be delivered closer to where participants live rather than having to travel to Tyneside. Less travel and being in a more familiar place should help people feel less fatigued and provide an opportunity to socialise and development friendships with other learners local to them.
“Currently, we have around 10 staff, including Julie Meighan our clinical service development manager, who will oversee training sessions run by a neuropsychologist and job coach. Julie worked as a specialist brain injury occupational therapist for many years so has the clinical knowledge and experience this programme needs.
“Our fantastic team of committed volunteers will support the delivery of this vital work to those who want to prepare for a return to work or plan a route into employment, training or education.”
Headway Tyneside is an independent charity providing support services to brain injury survivors and their families. In recent years, the board of trustees has developed a strategy to grow the scale and scope of services to provide more diverse and specialist services to their members.
