Case Study Changing your Priorities Tom is now on track to achieving his dream of becoming a fully qualified Health Trainer
Tom is 32 years old and had been involved in crime from a young age. His family had always engaged in criminal activity, so as a youngster growing up it was not a surprise when he followed the lead of his relatives. Tom admitted that the most important thing in his life up until this year had been money, whether it be acquiring or spending it. During his time in custody, Tom decided that he wanted to turn his life around, so he completed a number of courses including Level 1 and 2 of the Community Health Trainer Champion course. Tom approached new futures as he also hoped to find voluntary work which would encourage him to further this learning to become fully qualified. After discussions with his new futures case manager, Tom realised how selfish his lifestyle had been and employment became a greater priority so that he could support himself and his partner legitimately. Tom worked with his new futures case manager to create an action plan – this included improving his ICT skills, creating a CV and disclosure letter, obtaining a provisional driving licence and to commencing a Health Trainer placement. Tom joined an ICT group and with help, created a strong CV. Initially Tom lacked motivation as his curfew restricted the jobs he could apply for. However, as soon as the CV was completed, Tom was enthused, and used his new ICT skills to upload it onto websites; he also requested a large number of hard copies to hand out. Tom needed advice on how to positively disclose his conviction and so his new futures case manager suggested that writing a statement may be beneficial.. Once he had done this he felt more confident about informing potential employers about his offences. In order to obtain a provisional driving licence, new futures introduced him to ATLAS training to learn how to drive and the provisional licence gave him the additional bonus of a form of ID, which is essential when starting a new job and reintegrating into society. Tom was successful in obtaining an interview for a kitchen porter role and was offered a full time position working in a restaurant, he also continued to look for a Health Trainer placement and soon found himself employment job at a gym where he was able to work toward his health trainer qualification. He has continued with this and will hopefully become fully qualified in the near future. Tom now has a new sense of confidence about what he can achieve without turning to crime. He has created a structure in his life which will help deter any future criminal activity. Tom is extremely grateful to all of the staff that were involved in his interventions and he has talked about this on many occasions. Tom will continue to provide for himself and his partner by maintaining employment and soon will be able to complete his qualification and work as a Community Health Trainer.