Anne cares for her mum who suffers with arthritis and has had hip
and knee replacements giving her poor mobility.
Anne herself suffers from mental illness and agoraphobia and has panic attacks.
This left her felling very isolated, feeling that her life revolved around
caring for her mum. The only break she had was with her partner who she
sees at weekends - she felt trapped and had no social life.
Anne contacted Kirklees Council Carers Gateway and after talking over
her feelings, it became apparent that she was keen to return to some
sort of training that would give her a career. She wanted to work
around her caring responsibilities and get a well deserved break
from her caring role - a life of her own. Anne was put in touch
with Action for Carers and Employment (ACE) project.
After looking for courses in dog grooming and hairdressing, Anne decided
to do a hairdressing course which was one night a week for a year. She
never thought she would have the confidence to enter training due to her
agoraphobia but the ACE project worked alongside her, at Anne's pace,
and this inspired confidence in her.
Anne was so excited when she returned to training and looked forward
to new challenges.
Anne says "Without Action for Carers into Employment she would never
have pursued training". But this opportunity allowed Anne to improve
her health, increase her confidence and self esteem and most importantly
meet new people.
Anne now looks forward to her future and hopes to succeed as a mobile
hairdresser.