K left college at 18, applying to university as she’d been advised by her teachers. She’s a real communicator and loves making people laugh, so her natural sense of humour lead her to try an application to a Comedy Writing & Performance degree at Salford University. Not being offered a place knocked her back and she didn’t really know where to go next. Three years at college studying Drama hadn’t given her the real-life skills that she needed to go out and look for a job, and she wasn’t sure that was the right move for her anyway.

Rejections were a common theme for K. Whether it was not being recognised for an Education Health & Care Plan (EHCP) to give her the support she needed, or organisations she reached out to not really providing the right help to enable her to take the next step, K found herself turning 19 with no plan. Enter Lighthouse Futures Trust.

K’s mum had heard of Lighthouse Futures Trust and supported internships and encouraged her to find out more. The timing couldn’t have been better, and K became one of eight students who were able to sign up for and take part in our Internships Work funded non-EHCP trial.

We’re all really proud of what K’s achieving. For someone with anxiety and that needed help socialising, K is flourishing in her supported internship. The support and reassurance of having both a work buddy and job coach on site with her is enabling her to achieve what she couldn’t herself. Alongside this, she receives employability coaching so that she doesn’t find herself back at square one, not knowing what to do next. She’d love to have a job where her supported internship placement is but also knows that Lighthouse Futures Trust will always support her going forward so that she doesn’t ever find herself alone again wondering “what now?”