Stephen Reunited with His Family Thanks to the Restart Scheme

• The Growth Company (GC) delivers the Restart Scheme in the North West of England on behalf of G4S.
• Commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the scheme provides up to 12 months of enhanced support to people like Stephen, helping them find jobs and access other services in their local area.
• Find out how we helped Stephen improve his mental health and reunite with his family. 

A Liverpool man has been reunited with his wife and children thanks to help and support received from the Restart Scheme.  

Although he has been living in Liverpool for around three years, when he first moved to the UK, Stephen had to make the difficult decision to leave his wife and five children in their home country of Cameroon while he sought better employment opportunities so he could provide for his family. 

Stephen had previously passed his SIA licence and worked in the UK, but he had been out of work for a while. During this time, he became extremely depressed about being separated from his family, and he feared for their safety in Cameroon. Their house had been destroyed in conflict, leaving them homeless. Because of this, Stephen was desperate for help to bring them over to the UK. 

Once he was referred to the Restart Scheme by his local Job Centre, we drafted a letter which Stephen could send to his local MP to ask for their support in working with the Home Office to escalate the appeal to get his family repatriated to the UK. We also contacted the British Red Cross, who acted on Stephen’s behalf liaising with the MP’s office.  

We recognised the emotional turmoil that Stephen was going through, so in addition to kickstarting actions to help him be reunited with his family, we provided 1:1 mental health support and referred him to Talk Liverpool, who provided further help and advice with his wellbeing.  

Due to Stephen’s lack of employment, money was also tight – so we signposted him to various local food banks so he could stock up on food and essentials without worrying about the cost.

We’re pleased to say that following our help, Stephen and his family have now been reunited, and are living with him here in the UK. His mental health is in a much better place and his confidence has soared. He’s also taking steps towards finding his next job, having started an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) qualification and a painting and decorating course.  

Stephen is grateful for the support he received and is a "much happier man" now that he can continue his life with his wife and children by his side. We wish Stephen and his family all the best for the future.  

Commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions, the Growth Company delivers the Restart Scheme in the North West of England on behalf of G4S, the lead provider for this region.  

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The Growth Company is an award-winning social enterprise with a mission to generate growth, create jobs, and improve lives. We provide employment services across Greater Manchester, the Liverpool City Region, Lancashire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire and Humber.

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