Durham man goes from 'sofa surfing' to helping those with disabilities

Lee Brown said: “Prior to getting the job I was existing; I wasn’t even living. I used to think, ‘what’s the point in trying.”

DurhamEnable, a Durham County Council-run service, provides job support to residents aged 18 and over who have a disability or mental health condition.

The service, which earlier this year celebrated its two-year anniversary, has recently achieved a second milestone of helping 100 people into paid work.

Lee Brown is feeling more positive after finding work helping those with disabilities. Picture: Durham County Council (Image: Durham County Council)

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Lee was referred to DurhamEnable after being out of work for five years and suffering from poor mental health and loss of motivation.

He was paired with job coach Amy Davies, who worked with Lee to create a personalised approach to support that helped him realise his goals and aspirations.

Amy said: “Once Lee realised that we weren’t going to send him to any job and put pressure on him to do a certain number of searches per day, the barriers came down.

“We worked on confidence building. Part of that came from Lee empowering himself to think of what he wanted as a person, rather than being told what he should do.”

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The 41-year-old began attending employment workshops where he came across Bridge Creative, an organisation which works to improve opportunities for adults with a disability or autism.

Lee said: “My initial feelings were that I didn’t know what to expect. Because I didn’t know what I wanted to do myself, I didn’t know how DurhamEnable was going to help me.

“The employment workshops were the first time I had ever heard of Bridge Creative. I came up to do a craft session and that was it. I wanted to work there.”

DurhamEnable worked with Bridge Creative to secure Lee a volunteer placement which, after only a few sessions, became a work experience placement with a view to paid employment.

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Working closely with the organisation also meant DurhamEnable could provide in-work support to help Lee throughout his placement.

Lee now has paid employment with Bridge Creative where he works with people with learning difficulties.

Lee said: “It’s not just the job, it’s everything outside that goes into it, like having mates outside of work. Prior to getting the job I was existing; I wasn’t even living. I started the year sofa surfing on my friend’s couch, and ended with a new job. It felt like my whole life had changed completely.

“A major thing is that, because of the nature of my job, my relationship with my daughter, who has autism, has improved and I’m more able to understand her. I never thought in a million years I’d be working with people with learning difficulties and autism, but it feels like I was meant to do this.”

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Cllr Ted Henderson, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for children and young people’s services, said: “We are absolutely delighted that we have been able to support Lee and that he has seen so many positive changes after gaining employment.

“Through DurhamEnable we work to give personalised one-on-one support to remove barriers people may face and help them to develop the skills and confidence to secure employment. We also provide support after gaining employment to help people settle into their new role.”