London recruitment agency launches Work to Recover scheme for women
Work to Recover means we can help women in a genuinely practical way.
Recruitment agency Sidekicks London have joined forces with the London charity Free Me to launch Work to Recover, an innovative new employment scheme. The scheme aims to help women suffering from eating disorders and addictions get back into employment.
A 2015 report commissioned by Beat estimates that more than 725,000 people in the UK are affected by an eating disorder. Anorexia nervosa affects 1 in 250 women. Bulimia is two to three times more common and 90% of people with the condition are female.
Free Me is a registered charity that provides care to women recovering from addictions and eating disorders. They offer free therapeutic groups and activities, access to a dietician as well as one-on-one therapy. One of the therapeutic services they offer is a jewellery making workshop, and all of the jewellery is then sold under the jewellery brand Sweet Cavanagh.
The Work to Recover scheme with Sidekicks London will offer guidance, support and assistance in helping affected women get back into employment and assisting in them not just becoming more financially and mentally stable but forging a meaningful career.
In particular, Sidekicks London and Work to Recover will provide:
● Free CV workshops for Free Me clients who are ready to take the first step towards re-entering the world of work.
● Free practical advice to assist women finding employment that’s right for them.
● Free coaching sessions before interviews.
● Sidekicks London work with employers for whom Corporate Social Responsibility is a real priority. Those employers offer work placements to Free Me clients in order to help them adjust to the world of work once more.
Founder of Sidekicks Jessica Williams says “The launch of Work to Recover is an incredibly proud moment for everyone in the Sidekicks team. One of my closest friends was utterly devastated by bulimia and I saw how hard she struggled to find work. It was heartbreaking to see such a brilliant, brave, capable woman - who had devoted so much to her recovery - left unable to find work.
“Work to Recover means we can help women in a genuinely practical way. Re-entering the world of work is often the final, crucial step in the process of regaining independence.
“Work to Recover allows us to prepare Free Me’s clients thoroughly to ensure that we maximise their chances of being able to find work and we won’t stop until we’re satisfied that we’ve made a real difference to these women’s lives.”
Founder of Free Me, Florence Norman, says “Work to Recover is an absolutely brilliant initiative that will provide a vital link in the recovery process. Building the confidence to get back out into the professional world is a key step in getting better and is often one of the biggest relapse triggers.
“I worked as a PA before I came into recovery and founded Free Me. I loved the work because it was so relationship oriented. It takes a lot to be a reliable and efficient PA, much more than people think, and even though it is hard work, it is incredibly rewarding.”
About Sidekicks London
Launched in 2015, Sidekicks specialises in personal assistant and secretarial recruitment. Founded by Jessica Williams, a former PA with over 10 years’ experience, all of the Sidekicks team have previously worked as assistants before they became recruiters. Sidekicks champion support professionals and help them realise their ambitions, and their value, to the wider business community.
Operating within a very traditional industry, Sidekicks are revolutionising the way London recruitment works by offering flexible working to their female-led team, allowing some of London’s best recruiters to remain within the workplace on their own terms during pregnancy and motherhood.
Links:
About the Work to Recover initiative: http://sidekicks.london/work-to-recover/
Sweet Cavanagh Jewellery (all products made by the women in Free Me’s care): http://sweetcavanagh.com
Interview with Florence Norman, Founder of Free Me, about the Work to Recover initiative: http://sidekicks.london/monday-meeting/monday-meeting-floren...
Contact
Jessica Williams, Founder, Sidekicks London: jessica@sidekicks.london
TEL: +44(0)20 3709 5250
MOBILE: +44(0)77 4713 1807
33 St James’s Square, London, SW1Y 4JS
Free Me is a registered charity. (Charity number 1152120)