“I worked for 30 years in mental health services initially as a clinician and for many years as a manager. Real Lives has given us opportunity to invest in and develop our workforce whilst providing people with a service that is designed for them, as well as running the lovely Crocus café. I want to contribute to a positive, recovery focused culture, making sure there is lots of fun and laughter along the way.”

“I worked for Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust for many years before setting up Real Lives as a non-salaried co-director. I worked as a community nurse, a team manager and lastly as the project manager for the Peer Support Service, all demonstrating to me that what people really need is someone to believe in them, the chance to develop their skills and the opportunity to use them in their daily lives.”

“I have worked in a healthcare setting in an admin capacity for over 30 years. I am passionate about supporting people with mental health problems and proud to work at Real Lives, a company that makes a real difference to those we support, where the company ethos is to treat everyone as a person and not a number! My main role is to keep the building up and running and make sure all the paperwork is in order.”

“Having worked in the not-for-profit sector for the last 19 years providing administrative support to a number of Nottingham-based charities and community organisations, I have gained great satisfaction in helping to support the local community and particularly those residents in need. I enjoy being part of the Real Lives family and in helping make a difference to people’s lives. I work full-time in the office and will usually be the person at the other end of the phone for anyone wishing to ring the office phoneline.”

“I am an OT by background, working in adult mental health and forensic services. I joined Real Lives in 2012 with Sue and Nicole and have developed the service with the amazing team at Real lives and Crocus ever since. I oversee the day to day running of Real Lives and all clinical and financial aspects of the company with the support of our lovely team. I help people enter the service, as well as ensure all existing client’s packages are working for them, making changes where needed.”

“I have worked at Real Lives since 2014 when studying for my health and social care degree. I am down to earth and have a casual working style in a non-judgemental way. I enjoy helping organise where needed, attending people’s appointments, helping out around the house, as well as community activities such as walking and groups. In 2018 I became Assistant Manager, this role now includes setting up and co-ordinating packages, developing wellness and safety plans and supervising PALs.”

“Having worked for Real Lives since 2013 I have a good understanding of the ethos and have developed my role within the company, I love working here as I am passionate about recovery, peer support and ensuring people receive the care they deserve. I have experience supporting clients in many activities such as meetings, appointments, housing, community inclusion… I also am a PAL mentor within Real Lives so I support new workers get started on their journey as a PAL where needed.”

“I have worked for Real lives since 2015 and I am passionate about community support work, and enjoy caring for and encouraging people to reach their goals. I am an active and motivated person and Horse riding is one of my passions alongside the gym, swimming, shopping and walks. I feel I am easy to get on with, I give my all in helping people out and I have a lot of compassion and care to share in my working role, whilst being efficient in the more practical tasks!”

“My support style is open and positive. I enjoy getting to know people by listening and chatting. I am patient and reliable – if I say I’m going to do something I will do my best to make sure I do. I like supporting people to find solutions and am happy to find out about different options, so people can make choices that suit them. I’m happy to support people with different tasks. I enjoy finding out what people are interested in, as well as sharing my own interests.”

“I have a background of working with young adults with emotional difficulties, and have studied within the health and social care field. When it comes to the difficulties we all may face in everyday life I feel an inclusive society is the way forward in helping everyone reach their potential in life. I am a person centred and hands on PAL, I like to take my time in getting to know someone and pride myself in being an approachable person.”

“I have quite a gentle, calm support style, I enjoy supporting people to get out or to complete everyday activities and tasks. I am interested in nature, science, learning, animals, cooking (although I am vegan so would not be happy cooking meat myself), nutrition and wellbeing, women’s rights issues. I love cinema, music and enjoy poetry and art exhibitions. I worked as a social worker for 10 years working with different groups. I have lots of experience in decision making for people with cognitive difficulties. I do school talks and cooking demos for Animal Aid. I am part of a local activism group and cover Regenerative Culture – to support the wellbeing of the group. I am currently training to be an acupuncturist.”

“I became a support worker because I like to make a difference to someone’s day. That can mean cleaning the bathroom, doing some paperwork or supporting someone to a social event. I am focused on the needs of the person I am supporting and am happy to learn about their interests. I like making things and enjoy arts and crafts. I like visiting local art exhibitions. I like reading and visiting bookshops. I enjoy going to the cinema. I am not very active so I would like to start some (gentle) exercise. I have two years of experience working as a support worker. I have a degree in Health and Social Care.”

“I am a friendly and empathetic person. I grew up in Switzerland and attended an International school, thus, have met and interacted with many different types of people from different countries. I grew up loving animals and find great comfort in them. I have previously done support work, mainly for the elderly, however I have also had experience with children and young adults.”

“I have completed peer support training at Nottingham Recovery College, and I am passionate about supporting others to reach their full potential. Whether that is sitting back and having a cup of tea and a chat, keeping things neat and tidy, or going to an organisation to learn something new, you will be the main focus of my attention. Having my own lived experience of services makes me more aware of the importance of a smiley face. My hobbies are doing makeup; my most therapeutic tool used to date(!), Yoga and charity work, where I utilise my past experience acting to produce plays around topical issues. I would consider myself open-minded, and love and live life to the fullest.”

“I have been working with Real Lives since 2013. I provide recovery-focused, person-led support drawing upon my own personal lived experience, training and work within mental health services. I value honesty and healthy, balanced approaches, taking small steps to reach the individual’s goals. I work very hard at organising myself in order to stay consistently reliable and dependable. I also work on the Real Lives IT systems and provide support to other members of staff.”

“I have been a PAL at Real Lives since 2014 and in that time supported a number of clients. I am able to be a consistent role model in a someone’s life and adapt with them as their journey develops. I would say my support style is relaxed and flexible. I work well with people of all ages, both men and women. I have a good track history for doing good cleans, shops and helping people organise their homes. I am currently studying at University and I enjoy Yoga and other sports.”

“My previous career in engineering surprisingly perhaps has furnished me with interpersonal skills that I have been able to bring to my role with Real Lives, such as communicating with a diverse variety of people from all walks of life. I have studied Recovery principles and mindfulness both of which I use daily. I like to work in a laid back and easy-going manner supporting people to live the lives they want to. I like to walk and jog for fitness, for relaxation I love to read and listen to music.”

“I enjoy working at Real Lives as it gives me the opportunity to talk to people from all kinds of different backgrounds. I enjoy computer games as well as football. During support sessions I’m open to doing all sorts of activities. I have experience of working with clients with mental health challenges and learning disabilities, and previous experience working with children. I am naturally empathetic and have a friendly approach, I enjoy learning new approaches and gaining new experience.”

“I am keen to provide one to one support both within the home or in the community. I lead an active lifestyle so would be happy to engage people in sports and leisure activities in which they felt comfortable. I have previously worked as an administrator for mental health services as well as volunteered for an organisation which facilitated social groups for adults with mental health challenges. Additionally, I also have my own lived experience, which helps me to empathise and understand the difficulties that others are facing.”

“I have two years of support work experience so far and am looking forward to meeting more clients through my position as a PAL. I like to be active and enjoy providing encouragement for others to keep active, I appreciate the benefits of spending time outdoors as well as becoming involved in the community. I am very keen to support individuals to make their homes comfortable and clean environments to be in, so am not afraid to get stuck into helping organise belongings and cleaning in the home. I like to connect with others through common experiences or interests, as well as embracing differences. I hope I can provide some much-needed motivation and support to anyone seeking help in their lives and help them to move forward.”

“My past experience is helping people in the community and volunteering for disability direct. I like walking, I like fishing, playing pool or snooker, going to play golf, going to the gym, swimming or just having a good talk about anything.”

“I have years of experience supporting individuals with complex issues such as mental health, domestic abuse, substance misuse and all round advocacy needs. I am trained to NVQ level 3 in Health & Social Care, Advice & Guidance and have a strong knowledge of mental health issues, therapies and medications. I have also recovered from lived experience of mental health, which gives me passion and empathy to support others in similar situations. I have extensive experience of how stigma and lack of understanding can affect sufferers, and I am passionate about changing universal knowledge on these issues. I am really into music, health & wellbeing and spending quality time with family.”