Damilola’s journey back to work
6 March 2026
With support from our Lambeth IPS team, Damilola rebuilt her confidence, returned to employment and found a renewed sense of purpose.
At Thames Reach, many of our services focus on prevention — supporting people early, before a crisis escalates. Our Lambeth Individual Placement and Support (IPS) service, delivered as part of the Lambeth Living Well Network Alliance, helps people receiving mental health support find and sustain good-quality employment. By helping people rebuild stability, purpose and independence, services like this can play an important role in preventing homelessness.
Damilola was supported by the Lambeth IPS team after experiencing mental health difficulties that disrupted her career.
Having previously worked as a communications officer, Damilola hoped to return to a similar role but found it difficult to navigate the process on her own. Through the Lambeth IPS service, she began receiving tailored employment support and regular one-to-one guidance.
“During that difficult time of my life… they supported me to get a new job,” she says.
Support to rebuild confidence
Damilola met regularly with her employment support worker, who helped her search for opportunities and connected her with employers. Alongside this, she also received ongoing support for her mental health.
“I had meetings with my support worker every couple of weeks, just communicating in terms of what I needed in terms of looking for jobs,” she says.
As her confidence began to return, the service helped her secure a new communications officer role within the Civil Service — allowing her to use her existing skills and experience while rebuilding her routine.
Damilola says returning to work has had a positive impact on her wellbeing.
“I feel like I have a sense of purpose now,” she says. “Just leaving the house… it was a dark time of my life, so it’s nice to see that I’m able to get out of it and see brighter horizons.”
For Damilola, the combination of practical employment support and consistent personal contact made a significant difference during a difficult period.
“Helping people with CVs… giving people the opportunity to get into maybe industries that they haven’t gotten into before.”
She also emphasises how important the routine and connection were while she was out of work.
“It’s just the routine of leaving the house and meeting up with people… that one-to-one contact was really helpful when I wasn’t working.”
Stories like Damilola’s highlight how early support — particularly when someone is experiencing mental health difficulties — can help people rebuild their confidence and regain stability before other issues arise. By supporting people into meaningful employment, services like Lambeth IPS play an important role in helping people move forward with independence and hope.
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