Wendy Burrell, 53, from South Shields has been working with Northern Rights for the past four months.

Her mentors within the organisation are Alysha and Leigh, who have been helping her through a number of basic skills and confidence building courses to ready her for the world of work.

Wendy said: “I used to work with elderly people and what I would love to do now is to help people with learning difficulties.

“Since I started, I’ve completed a number of courses, I think everyone going, and they are really helping me to move onto the next stage which is applying for jobs.

“Northern Rights have been excellent. They have given me all the support I need, including one to one help which was great for my confidence, and I really feel like they’ve had my best interests at heart throughout.

“I am really looking forward to moving back into employment and I hope I will find a job in the next few months.”