Elevate Graduate, Jonathan, looks back on his experience

Almost 100 awards will be given to participants in this week's graduation ceremony for qualifications, training and personal development programmes completed by individuals in recovery from drug and/or alcohol misuse.

Elevate-Glasgow is a service supporting individuals in recovery from problematic drug and/or alcohol misuse by delivering a variety of employability services including personal development, training and volunteering experiences, either directly through Elevate or through their partner organisations.

How did you first learn about Elevate?

I first learned about Elevate through a friend in recovery in the summer of 2017. She invited me along to an open day, in Maryhill, that was for people in recovery who were looking to get into employment. There were various recovery organisations present, none of whom I had heard of, having been relatively new in recovery at the time.

Elevate was present at the event and their worker at the time, Jacqui, had a wonderful, positive energy. I joined the queue out of curiosity and that's when she explained what Elevate does and how they support people in recovery looking to move onto employment or education.

What was your first impression of the project?

When I found Elevate I was in quite a difficult predicament. I had just returned from Poland (where I had been living for 2 and a half years) and found myself unemployed for the first time in my life. I had been told by the Job Centre that I was not entitled to any benefits for six months - due to having lived overseas - and had no source of income.

When Jacqui explained that Elevate offered courses and placements for people in recovery who were unemployed, I felt a great sense of relief. All I wanted to do was get back to work, but my time with Elevate offered me so much more than that. I was given an opportunity to study, gain qualifications and complete a paid work placement - all of which have taken me to where I am today. 

Do you have a standout moment from your experience?

It's difficult to say, because there were so many fantastic experiences. Being able to get a place on the COSCA course was one of the most invaluable experiences; I use so much of what I learned on this course in both my work and interpersonal life to this day.

Another highlight was getting a paid placement with an organisation that then offered me full time employment at the end of my placement. In this role I got to meet people from all over the world and take part in an array of cross-cultural events. Which is something I could have never envisioned doing a when I first signed up with Elevate.

The job also helped me get on my feet financially and achieve my dream of spending a year in Canada - which I did after 18 months in the role.

Why do you think celebration events like these are an important part of the process?

"I can only speak for myself, but as a person in recovery I found there to be a number of barriers in integrating into mainstream educational and working environments in Scotland. With Elevate my previous employment gaps or unfinished courses did not matter - which is unfortunately not the case in many environments. What did matter was that I was a person in recovery who wanted to be a better version of myself. 

Elevate is a person-centred service which takes into account the range of challenges people in recovery may face when endeavouring to move on with their lives. The staff work together with the individual to identify their goals, and what it takes to get them there. For each person the journey is entirely unique and the sense of accomplishment - whatever their goals may be - is uniquely theirs to cherish.

Before Elevate I had never graduated in anything, but in the years since I have gone on to complete two HNCs and am in the final year of my HND in Journalism. Next year I hope to continue in the same vain - with various conditional offers for 3rd year University courses in the pipeline. Without Elevate, and all of their wonderful staff who helped me along the way, I could never have imagined returning to full-time higher education. 

Graduating from their courses, and getting my certificate at Glasgow City Chambers, gave me the belief to take the next steps to get to where I am today. A decade of addiction had eroded my sense of self. Bereft of confidence and self-worth, and utterly directionless, I had no idea how to turn the tide. Elevate offered me the helping hand and nurturing that I needed to pull me out the of mire. 

As our COSCA tutor Neil said to us: "Small goals create a spirit of success." For anyone who has been lost in addiction, these words hold great pertinence. Finding out who you are and what you want in life, and then endeavouring to follow a path, in a structure which is not built for you, takes tremendous courage. I believe everyone who does so deserves recognition. I believe they deserve their very own personal graduation."