A BARNSLEY adult learner who overcame mental health issues to become a social care worker has been given a prestigious national award.
Andrea Sanders has been awarded the European Social Fund Individual Learner Award. This category recognises those who have made a significant difference to their own lives through learning, and who inspire others to do the same.
Being made redundant from her job in the textile industry in 2003 had a devastating effect on Andrea’s mental health.
The social care worker took her first steps to recovery with Voluntary Action Barnsley and later Mind. She realised that learning helped to maintain her health and to find her direction.
Andrea now works permanently at at Mapplewell Manor after completing a work placement there.
She said: "The service users’ faces light up when they see me and joke ‘oh no, she’s here', with a smile on their faces.
"I also receive positive feedback from their family and friends which makes my role even more satisfying to know I am making a difference to people’s lives. My goal is to become a senior carer in the next five years.”
