Depaul Trust's work experience scheme makes first successful placement

Homeless and disadvantaged young people are being given the chance to learn about the world of employment and gain valuable skills through a new work experience scheme, Broadening Horizons, set up by national youth homelessness charity, Depaul Trust and match funded by Westminster City Council and HSBC.

The scheme officially started on the 27th of October, with a young person completing the first work experience placement with parent support charity, Families Need Fathers.

The Broadening Horizons scheme links host companies to young people that Depaul Trust works with to help them build their confidence, gain experience and take the first steps towards further training or employment.

Depaul Trust works with young people who have had a difficult start in life and who may well have left education early without qualifications, often through external circumstances.

Depaul provides them with the support that they need to help them gain meaningful employment to sustain their independence in the community.

Young people often arrive at Depaul Trust projects at their lowest point, for a number of reasons, including family breakdown. As they progress through Depaul Trust, they are assisted in developing life skills to live independently. This includes developing their employability through initiatives such as Broadening Horizons.

Bethelm Mahari, a 20 year old resident from Depaul Trust’s Westbourne House hostel in Westminster will be the first young person to take advantage of the scheme taking up her one week placement at Families Need Fathers, during her half term break.

Bethelm was born in Eritrea, but as a result of religious persecution, she was forced to flee the country and sought asylum in England in January 2008. Bethelm was placed in Liverpool and Wigan over her first six months, but speaking little English she found it hard to settle in.

She was eventually given official leave to remain in the country and moved to London in the hope of finding a larger Eritrean community. The big city was daunting and harder than she expected and Bethelm ended up sleeping rough on the streets of London.

She visited a drop in centre for help and advice and was referred to Depaul Trust. She has been living at Westbourne House for three months now and has made amazing progress.

She is now enrolled on two college courses, including an ESOL course (English for Speakers of Other Languages) and her English has improved dramatically.

Bethelm said: “I am really happy that I have been given this opportunity to learn about work and improve my English and I am looking forward to working with the Families Need Fathers charity.

“Depaul Trust have been great and helped me to find a college place and gain this experience. The hostel feels like my home and I would like to thank them very much for their support.”

Becky Sibert, Policy & Information Officer at Families Need Fathers who is mentoring Bethelm said:

“It’s been a real pleasure having Bethelm as part of our team this week. She has a great work ethic and has been a huge help. We’re honoured to be part of the Broadening Horizons project and look forward to the next placement we are involved in.”

Depaul Trust is searching for companies that want to make a lasting difference to young people’s lives and could potentially offer a Broadening Horizons work experience placement. If your company would be interested in finding out more about the scheme please contact Rachel Wilkinson on 0207 467 5460.