Dean's Story

Look Ahead entered my life at a difficult time. I was street homeless after a family breakdown, and got referred to Frogmore Court, Look Ahead’s Maidenhead-based Young People Service.

I had a fantastic support worker called Jimmy. He showed me how to take care of my flat, and more importantly, myself. I was able to keep a roof over my head, learn so many skills, and keep relationships with my family. If it wasn’t for Look Ahead and for him, I don’t know where I would have ended up.

Giving back is important to me. I wanted to pay forward the kindness I was shown, so later after I had moved on, I myself applied for a support worker vacancy back at Frogmore Court.

During the interview, I explained how I had been through the same challenges as the young people supported by the service and could empathise with them and understand them. You could say I was an expert by experience. My manager Allison took a chance on me by giving me the opportunity to join a fantastic team.

It’s fantastic to share what I learned with the young people I support. I check in with them regularly to see how they are doing. Seeing them face-to-face is a priority for me, body language and tone of voice are key, you can understand when something’s wrong, even if they don’t tell you right away.

Making sure our young people can enjoy experiences that they otherwise may not have had is another part of the job I love. We received funding to send our young people on a retreat to Wales. It was great seeing them leave their comfort zones and trying things like sea kayaking and trekking. I was proud of them.

Look Ahead invests in the people we support, which is brilliant. It was wonderful to see a young person successfully apply for the Look Ahead Futures Fund. The fund gives bursaries – funded by LandAid – to young people to put towards their future career plans,

The young man had an offer from the Street Soccer Foundation, run by Chelsea Football Club, but he didn’t have the right kit. He applied for the fund and was able to buy some new football boots to attend the course. His face when he heard the news was priceless.

That’s the best thing about being a support worker. Seeing someone you’ve supported make a positive change feels great. It feels even better when they recognise the role you played, and say those all-important words, “thank you”.