.png)
'I do feel very proud of what I've done here' - Sarah came to us under ground-breaking intern scheme and she was ace
- ciaran583
- Aug 5
- 3 min read
Working at the New Futures Project - even for a short time - tends to leave its mark on people, whether they've been with us as staff members, volunteers, or students on work placement.
Sarah Lemmon, who has just completed a six-week internship with us, is no different.
The mum-of-two came to us having recently completed her degree in Health and Wellbeing in Society at De Montfort University, (DMU), in Leicester.
It is no exaggeration to say the time she has spent with us under the DMU-managed internship scheme has been a life-changing experience.
Working alongside our crisis support worker Avril Lewis, Sarah has contributed enormously to the day-to-day operation of the project, supporting some of the most vulnerable women who come our way.
It has also cemented her belief that her future career lies in working with vulnerable adults.
Before she left us to take the next step, we asked Sarah to reflect on her experiences here.
"I'd worked in admin for a manufacturing firm for 10 years and wanted to do something different," she said.
"I want to work with people. I'm a very open person and I find it easy to talk to people.
"When I saw the opportunity to come to New Futures, I was very drawn to the idea.
"A close friend who worked in homelessness outreach in the city told me about the project and that was enough to convince me.
"Coincidentally I bumped into some of the women from the project on a staff night out and we got talking.
"I told them I had just applied for the internship and they were really encouraging.
"When you apply for the internship you are encouraged to choose three options and see what happens.
"In the end I decided to only apply for New Futures. I was so happy when they told me I'd got it.
"My first impressions of the project was that it was very busy, lots of people coming and going throughout the building.
"I was a little apprehensive at first, but I settled in quickly because everyone was so supportive and friendly.
"What will I remember most from my time here? I don't think I know how to convey it. I can certainly say it has had a big impact on me and shaped my career in support work.
"Meeting the women has been wonderful, especially when you earn their trust and they begin to open up to you.
"I do feel very proud of what I have done here and also very privileged to have met everyone here.
"Some days have been more difficult than others and - I'm quite hard on myself - there are certainly some things I could have improved on.
"Maybe I missed an opportunity to have a conversation with someone or I wasn't able to make as good a connection as I could with one of the women.
"Six weeks is no time though.
"This was my test of whether support work was the job for me. I can say 100 per cent that it is.”
Avril said: "Sarah was great. She never shied away from anything we asked her to do and she had a really good understanding of her clients and their needs.
"I noticed she really wanted to find out as much about the project as she could and took time to speak to other people here to find out what job roles they did.
"She said she'd love to come back here as a volunteer - and we would be delighted if she did.
"We've had a few university students come to us as interns in the past few years and it works really well - the students get valuable experience and we get the benefit of them helping us support our clients."
The New Futures Project offers a comprehensive welfare and counselling service for women and young people dealing with sexual abuse or exploitation, domestic violence, trafficking, poverty and debt, substance use or mental ill-health.
Call us on 0116 251 0803 or send us a message at: info@new-futures.org.uk
You can find us at 71 London Road, Leicester, LE2 0PE.
Comments