Averil | Faces of Futures

Averil, Senior Support Worker at Finavon Terrace Housing with Care, Dundee

Hi there! My name is Averil, and I’m a senior support worker with Hillcrest Futures working with people who have physical and learning disabilities at our Housing with Care service in Finavon Terrace, Dundee. I started working for Hillcrest in July 2019 as a support worker.

I chose to work in this area because I have two sons with learning disabilities and have a vast number of years of experience, and felt that I could give back my experience to helping others with similar disabilities. One of my sons is also cared for by Hillcrest Futures and I really understand the importance of ensuring that the care and support we deliver is to an extremely high standard.

I make sure as a senior support worker that all paperwork is in place for the service users to be supported from the team that I have taught to give outstanding care.

Making our service users happy to get up every morning and do things they thought they would never could do, like cooking for example, is hugely rewarding. It might sound like a little thing for people who are able and typically developed, but something like cooking is a huge thing to achieve when you have learning disabilities, and to see the rewarding look when the individual achieves their goal is truly fantastic!

The team at Finavon is amazing and was recently recognised with an award for outstanding care! The team consists of ten people from lots of different backgrounds and we all get on extremely well. They are one of the best teams I’ve ever worked with. I’ve grown in confidence and have learnt so much since starting with Hillcrest.

I believe that if someone wants to work in care, they must be passionate about the job and have a caring and adapting nature. They need to want to help improve the lives of others, and work hard to give those people an equal chance to better themselves.

Hillcrest provides excellent flexible working opportunities for staff, and this has really helped me, particularly when my own children were still living at home.