John, a Support Worker in Rochdale, describes how he feels about working for AFG

For 30 odd years I worked in retail, selling nuts and bolts, spanners and power tools to companies and the general public. In March 2010 I was made redundant and things looked a little bleak. I applied for job after job, mostly getting no replies. Somebody suggested I applied for a Support Worker role and thought I’d like it.

How wrong could they be...I absolutely love it!

I’ve been in the job for only a few months and met so many wonderful people; from trainers to managers, colleagues to Service Users and being new the one thing that has struck me is that everyone has a smile on their face. I don’t think I’ve met a glum person since I have been here. Everyone seems to have that feel good thing and that’s new to me. So, I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone for making me feel so welcome and for their help.

As for me, I know I’ve got a lot of work to do to improve myself and meet the challenges ahead, but I know I am in good company and to quote a lot of people, “I wish I’d done this years ago”. People have said how less stressed out I look – I certainly feel it and now I’m doing something I’ve always liked doing – helping people and getting paid for it.