“Making job applications, it’s very scary especially being away from such world for so long, confidence lost, not much memory, and the whole rebuilding back that part of my lifestyle may not be easy. Getting all the support from dasl and slowly easing back into what appears to be the new form of working world. Learning to apply for jobs is so helpful and enjoyable because they make it comfortable to ‘let our guards down’. As far as future is concerned it’s nice to keep this support going, to keep us in the loops, to refresh our memory, in order to share experiences. Cause learning never stops”.

Vocation Matters is a user led project integrated within South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust. They provide time-unlimited, vocational information and support for people who use mental health services in Lambeth. They cover education, employment, training, volunteering, and welfare. Clean and Care is a well-established project-part of Lambeth vocational services at SLaM, offering work training and part-time paid work. The project’s main activity is a commercial carpet and upholstery service, which helps the workforce gain the necessary skills, confidence and references that are needed to obtain employment, or other socially inclusive activities.

Whilst the employment and social inclusion support offered by each of our partners is undeniably impactful, working in isolation can lead to the duplication of efforts, poor communication and missed opportunities – all of which creates more obstacles to assisting those who are most in need. It is now more crucial than ever that we work together to support Black and Disabled people to find work in which they can truly thrive – the figures are stark, and made worse by Covid-19 so we must act urgently.

We hope that this initial collaboration can expand, encouraging the 100 plus other organisations delivering employment support in Lambeth, along with the numerous grassroots and community-led services providing other relevant support, to join us. If you are interested in joining the partnership in the future and building something great together, we ask that you take 15 minutes to complete this survey.

We seek to shift the employment support service landscape from one based heavily on competition, towards a collaborative network of providers delivering mutually reinforcing activities. We are working towards systems change – where new relationships and connections are built and sustained, and there is a shift in policies, practices and resource flow that better serves our Black and Disabled residents.

Our ultimate goal is to create a human-centred system in which a referral to any employment support provider in Lambeth will lead the individual to a service which meets their needs, so that there will be no wrong door for any Black and/or Disabled individual seeking help.

Written by: Yasmin Ibison – Programme and Partnerships Manager (Employment) & Tayla Sapseid – Employment Project Support Officer