Care Support Worker wins gold in national awards ceremony

One of our Care Support Workers, Megan Kirkham, has won the ‘Inspirational Individual’ prize at the WOW! Awards National Ceremony.

Published: 12/12/2023

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Megan was selected from 34,000 nominations, due to her outstanding commitment, dedication and passion for the people she supports. 

As a Care Support Worker, Megan assists people who have a disability to live their best lives. One of our residents in Essex wrote an award nomination to thank her for changing his life. 

When he moved into supported housing, he had a fear of speaking and wrote notes to communicate with people. He had experienced selective mutism throughout his life. 

With Megan’s encouragement and support, he tried new experiences and gained self-confidence and social skills. Eventually he started speaking. 

He said: “This is something I never thought I would ever be able to accomplish, let alone in such a short time span. And it’s absolutely life changing for me. Now that I can talk and have gotten over my life's biggest fear, pretty much anything seems possible in comparison. I am feeling more confident and happier than I ever have before. I am doing so many new things now with this confidence, like going back to college and learning to drive. And I don't think I could have done any of it if I had never met Megan.” Read the full nomination. 

Megan commented on her award: “I love to make a difference to the lives of our residents. Seeing them smile and blossom into independent, confident people just makes my job worthwhile. You can really see how proud our residents become of themselves when they reach their goals in life. I feel very proud of myself, as it’s not every day you win an award for a job you love!” 

Stephen Burns, Executive Director of Care, Inclusion and Communities, added: “I’m so pleased that Megan received a national WOW! Award to go with the Gold Star Award she won previously. This is recognition for the incredible work Megan did to receive the original nomination and is also an insight into the terrific work she does every day. Megan and our other Care and Support colleagues make such a positive difference to the lives of our residents and customers.” 

We’re looking for more Support Workers like Megan to join our team. Check out our vacancies.