Emilia shares her return to work story in Parliament
SameYou launched a major new partnership with the Big Issue at an event in Parliament to help support brain injury survivors and their carers return to work – outlining the stark challenges to an audience of business leaders, healthcare professionals and key politicians.
The charity is working with Big Issue Recruit which aims to help survivors and carers cope with the often overwhelming prospect of returning to work after trauma by providing job coaches to help with the hiring and settling in process.
Emilia Clarke MBE, SameYou Co-Founder, survived two life-threatening brain haemorrhages while working on the Game of Thrones television series and launched the charity in 2019.
Speaking at the event in the House of Commons, she said: “I didn’t leave the hospital thinking ‘thank God I lived, I left feeling ‘what if I can’t do my job?’.”
61% of respondents to a survey polled by the organisations said they would have benefitted from a job coach to ease their return to work and as many as one in five survivors rated the support they received from their workplace after returning as ‘poor’.
Emilia added: “If I couldn’t work, if I couldn’t live out my dreams, then who was I?
“How we earn our money has a direct link to our levels of self-esteem and self-belief.
“But when the very thing you rely on, the part of you that contains what makes you unique fails you, it can result in a crisis of self that affects every area of your life.
“We at SameYou are so grateful for all that the Big Issue has done for us, and I couldn’t be happier standing here in front of you all to talk about getting people back to work.”
The event also heard the stories of survivor Scott Pearshouse and his wife, Hayley. She quit her job to care for Scott describing how their ‘whole world changed’.
And Kate Kelly, an Occupational Therapist at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, revealed that patients often say their disabilities are poorly understood by their employers.
Paul Cheal, CEO of Big Issue Group, said: “By working together we can not only support brain injury survivors to have the confidence and skills to be work-ready, but also help to place them into roles with supportive employers.”
Big Issue Recruit will be available to support both parties navigate changes and achieve a great outcome.
Shak Dean, a job coach at Big Issue Recruit, said: “It’s about understanding someone’s story and understanding what the boundaries are preventing them from moving on and actually having the life they want.
“We have a conversation, go through steps and actions to see what is going on and where are they at. What is standing in their way of achieving those goals? And from there, we look at how we can help them navigate this and get them into employment, education, or whatever it might be. It’s not the same for any two people.”
Be part of Big Issue Recruit
Big Issue Recruit offers employers a reliable, ethical, end-to-end method of recruitment which reduces the risk, and cost, of candidate churn.
It is seeking partner organizations who want to create employment pathways and work together to fill their employment vacancies, diversify their workforce and create significant social value.
To find out more about the partnership, and to get involved, contact [email protected]
Read the full story about the event on the Big Issue website: