Making a Difference
“No matter what I go on to do in the future, this is going to stay with me. I couldn’t have asked for a better job,” said April Sinclair.
She works for Stoke-on-Trent-based charity Asha, which helps refugees and asylum seekers. As an emotional support worker for young people, she gives them the space to talk.
“I’ve seen a 100% difference in children. They’ve definitely opened up about their lives and feelings.”
The 22-year-old, who lives in Stoke-on-Trent, first got to know about Asha’s work when she was studying at University of Staffordshire. She began volunteering in her spare time, fitting it round her course in Psychology and Counselling.
“Once I graduated in summer 2023, I was offered a job there. They basically created the role for me and got funding for the job,” she said. “I don’t think I would have got this role without my degree.”
Gut Instinct
April grew up in Northern Ireland and had never heard of Stoke-on-Trent before she started searching for where to study.
“I looked at universities across the UK and chose University of Staffordshire because of the course content. I couldn’t come to an open day as it was during the Covid pandemic. But I just went with my gut. On my first day at university, I met two of my best friends.”
She was soon throwing herself wholeheartedly into her studies.
“Even though I wanted to do a psychology degree, I wanted to focus on family therapy. Psychology is more scientific-based and uses statistics. Counselling is more personal and is a grey area – it’s not black and white.
“What really stood out for me was there was so much personal development in counselling. You had a personal development group and would connect with each other. We also covered loads of stuff on the course.”
April’s interest in counselling stemmed from her own mental health challenges growing up. “People say I’m also very emotionally intelligent and empathetic. I understand others.”
For her final-year project, she looked at parenting styles and whether people are influenced by intergenerational factors. “A big theme that came up was parenting in the digital era and the impact that’s had on the relationship between parents and their children,” she added.
Perfect Fit
It was one of April’s best friends at university who thought she would be interested in working for the charity.
“She came home one day and said, ‘you need to go, it’s your type of thing’. From the moment I went there, I felt I’d never fitted in somewhere so well in my life. I instantly felt like myself and felt connected with Asha.”
April is not a qualified counsellor. But the skills she learnt on her degree have proved useful. Her job includes teaching children mindfulness techniques to help with their mental health.
She said: “I’m just there for them. I do work with adults as well. We have a new mums and babies’ group. But my main role is with children. I do wellbeing talks and check in with them. The kids are amazing.”
Asha supports families from more than 50 different countries, mainly across Africa and Asia. Each of them has their own personal story of how they came to Stoke-on-Trent. Like April, they have made the city their new home.
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