A day in the life of...

Kaz Beveridge

Support Worker at Shrublands Court Day Centre for adults with mental health conditions in Colchester

I have worked at Shrublands Court Day Centre as a Support Worker for five years now. We are like one big family here – we welcome service users to the Centre and make sure they have a great time while they are here.

Shublands is an activity day centre for adults with mental health conditions. We do all kinds of fun activities with the service users – baking, quizzes, dancing, sing-along and musical days, dressing up, painting, planting pots in the garden and trips out. It gives people a great opportunity to interact with their peers and enjoy themselves in a relaxing environment.

I really enjoy my job and at the end of the day when you see people leaving with smile on their face it makes it all worthwhile - as long as service users are happy we are happy!

Dave Lunnon

Rapid Response Technician for the Equipment Service

I have been a Rapid Response Technician for several years. In my job I visit people in their own homes and assess their equipment needs to see what we can supply to help make their day to day life easier. This might be things like raising their sofa or chair to make it easier to get in and out of or installing grab rails to make getting out of the front door safer and more comfortable for someone.

I carry a lot of the equipment with me in my van so I can often fit things there and then all in the same visit. Some more specialist items might need to be ordered or picked up from our warehouse in which case we will come back for a second visit to install them and make sure that you know exactly how to use them.

I can honestly say that I wake up in the morning and look forward to coming in to work – no two days are ever the same. I am well supported from managers, supervisors and Essex Cares. It is such a worthwhile job to be doing - I enjoy being able to help make peoples lives easier and giving people that extra bit of independence.