Hope wins Outstanding Achiever award
Hope Cowan, (17) from Muirhouse, has won an award for young people between the ages of 16-24 who have overcome personal barriers to move into employment, education or training.
The awards were presented at a glittering ceremony in Glasgow last Thursday. Unfortunately Hope was unwell so the award was received on her behalf at the Awards for Achievment gala event at the Hilton Hotel.
Hope completed the Tomorrow’s People Working It Out Programme, a 16 week scheme that helps prepare young people for the world of work.
Before coming to Tomorrow’s People, Hope had been in and out of care all her life as a result of a traumatic home life. On moving from Falkirk to Edinburgh, Hope slipped through the cracks at social services and became homeless. She had no adult figure in her life to offer her guidance and was left unemployed and claiming Income Support with no mobile phone or internet access.
During her time at Tomorrow’s People, Hope proved to be an incredibly resilient and ambitious young person and she wanted to take advantage of every opportunity on offer. She immersed herself in the programme and put a lot of work into all the team challenges.
Hope was an enthusiastic member of the Tomorrow’s People group who researched and wrote an article about legal highs for the NEN – and won an adult literacy award for their efforts!
With the help of Tomorrow’s People Hope built up her qualifications, from First Aid to Food Hygiene and Hope now has a job working as a home help with Margaret Forrest Care, where she visits elderly people in their homes to help look after them.
Hope said: “I did really well when I was on the course and it made me so happy. It gave me a good idea of what I wanted to do in the future but we also had a lot of fun. I got to meet new people and try lots of new things.”
Heather Law, Tomorrow’s People Adviser in Edinburgh said: “Hope has made excellent progress and I have no doubt that she will continue to do well. With the help that we were able to offer Hope she has been able to excel. We provided her with a supportive and nurturing environment, which allowed her to take the right steps to getting a flat, applying for jobs, making new friends and bringing her some much needed stability.”
Martin Brookes, CEO of Tomorrow’s People, said: “Tomorrow’s People has been working in Scotland since the charity was set up over 30 years ago and our programmes have developed to reflect local circumstances. Our staff on the front line have a deep understanding of the needs on the ground and we aim to ensure that Scottish young people, no matter what their background, can benefit from a growing economy.”
Well done, Hope!
Tomorrow’s People has helped over 470,000 people on their journey into work since 1984. The organisation operates in rural and urban areas and have programmes in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverclyde and Galashiels.
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