“Ha! Take that Art Teacher!

AMH New Horizons, through it’s Working It Out project, offers clients the opportunity to try work placements.  Heather tells us how she is getting on.

My first day here in AMH in Foyle, I think I had at least one or two panic attacks.  As I settled in, I found that I was very aware that I was happy to stay here.  At the beginning of my second year, one thing cropped up that I wasn’t expecting – work placement!  AMH can become this little bubble world and so the idea of doing something both scared and excited me.

Working with Valerie (AMH Employment Officer) made things easier as she explained the process of applying for a placement and helped me to fill in the application form.  It was a process I don’t think I was ready for to be honest.  After some searching, discussion and phone calls, Valerie found me a placement at LCDI (Limavady Community Development Initiative) at Roe Valley Hospital.  Once a week I travel to Limavady where I teach a craft class at the Head Trauma Daycare Unit.  Crafts have always seemed to be a passion of mine and getting to share that passion in my placement has been a complete joy.  My art teacher in high school had told my father that I was too slow to do art GCSE.  Ha! Take that art teacher!

Valerie helped me to go through the process of meeting my clients and has visited me in my placement.  She’s always ready to have a quick word to see how I’m getting on and chasing me to ensure I have done everything needed to get my placement started.  I wish her the very best in the future as she is leaving us, but also wish Laura the very best now she is here.  Don’t be afraid of change.  I have found that my placement is fantastic both for me and for whatever I hope to achieve in the future.

This project is part-funded through the Northern Ireland European Social Fund Programme 2014-2020 and the Department for the Economy.