I have been the Project Planner for Healthy Habits for almost 12 months now and have enjoyed every minute of it.

The Healthy Habits Academy is a potentially life changing coaching programme benefitting residents of Camborne/Pool/Illogan and Redruth. We work with people who are out of work or education and help to enrich their lives by assisting them to identify and confront any problems that they are having. For instance, if someone is struggling financially, we can help them to make sure that they are claiming all that they are entitled to, help them to sort out any debts and even support them to budget for their circumstances. If someone is struggling with confidence, we can work with them to build their self-esteem and resilience. Sometimes we come across issues that we aren’t qualified to deal with and at that point we are able to make referrals to other organisations that can help within the local community (with each persons permission of course). There is also some ELearning that goes along with the Health Habits Academy, which can provide a real sense of achievement. We are also great at helping people to identify their own strengths, update their CV’s and practice their employability skills and we have some great success stories;

Julie was a young, single mother, who joined the Healthy Habits Academy after seeing the information for the project on a local noticeboard. Julie had exceptionally low self-esteem and spent all of her money on her 2 year old Daughter who had special dietary requirements due to food allergies. Julie found that all of her benefits were spent each month on nappies, clothes and certain foods suitable for her little girl to eat and to make matters worse she had gone over her overdraft when her Daughter needed a new pair of shoes and the resulting bank charges had left her in a cycle of debt.

I worked with Julie, meeting with her regularly, encouraging her in tasks to increase her confidence and self worth. Encouraging her to maintain some fitness that fit in with her lifestyle and a simple self-care routine. Julie’s confidence began to flourish and we claimed back the bank charges that had caused her so many issues financially. We made an efficient budget together and when her washing machine broke I helped Julie to claim a Care and Crisis award to get it replaced. Julie also asked for support in applying for her Daughter’s free, 2 year old nursery place and once this was approved, this gave Julie some time each day for herself which helped her to manage her stress.

With the consistent support of the Healthy Habits Academy Julie is now in a much better place, she has achieved the certificates for the ELearning that accompanies the Healthy Habits Academy and is now looking at returning to work. Julie has updated her CV and has decided that she would like to work in social care, she feels that for the first time in a good number of years she actually has the confidence to do this.

Success stories like these, are exactly why the Healthy Habits Academy was created. Here at Make Me A Plan we pride ourselves on being friendly people who like to help others achieve their goals. We know what it is like to struggle and are proud to put our experiences and knowledge to good use in making other peoples lives better. Could you do with some support to achieve your goals? Are you struggling financially? Maybe you feel a bit lost and are not sure what support you need? We can figure that out with you and we would love to help you.

If you have questions about the Healthy Habits Academy or would like to know how it would work with your circumstances, you can get in touch with me at smile@makemeaplan.com or give me a call on 07974 273 095.

Tamsin

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