Smart Works: 'A free designer suit changed my life'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-48635519

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Going for an interview can be a daunting experience, especially after a period of unemployment. Two women explain how being given free designer clothes by a charity championed by the Duchess of Sussex helped them get new jobs.

Saarah, 24, Solihull, West Midlands

I've always wanted to be an air hostess. I was over the moon when I got an interview but when the letter said I had to wear a pencil skirt and a white shirt I panicked.

I didn't have them and I didn't have the money to buy them. The man at the Job Centre said you can go to Smart Works and they give you interview clothes.

I thought it was going to be embarrassing. I'm the kind of person who never asks for help. Clothes are a big thing for a girl and it felt awful having to ask for them.

I was really nervous when I got there, I just wanted to get the clothes and go home.

Hanna really took the time to get to know me and find outfits that fit my personality. I couldn't believe it when she came back with this Burberry pencil skirt and matching blazer. It was the perfect size.

I looked at myself in the mirror I felt like a millionaire. She said: "If you feel good in it, then it's yours."

I had a huge smile on my face, I couldn't believe it - who gets a Burberry suit?! In that moment I felt like I had two lives, the one before and the one now.

I don't remember much about my childhood at all, it was a blur. My parents' relationship problems meant I didn't want to be at home. It affected my mental health so much that I didn't want to be at school either. I would hide in the toilets for hours until I could leave.

At night I was sleeping in the entrance of hotels, train stations and public toilets. I left school with no GCSEs and was taken into Solihull Children's Services. They put me in a hostel and then a shared house until I turned 18 and I got my own place.

I did so many jobs - cleaning, factory work, waitressing, sales, bakery, stewarding, hairdressing, bar staff. I also did a media apprenticeship. Most of the time I was working, I wasn't well enough to.

[Then] I was out of work for over a year and I never thought I would be in this position. My social worker told me I needed to see a therapist to help me get my life back on track.

As I started to feel better I was desperate to get back into work and start chasing my dreams. That's how I came to Smart Works.

The right clothes can make us feel so confident and better about ourselves. They helped me a lot in the interview process, I wrote down everything they said and took it onboard.

When it came to the interview it went really well. I'm waiting to hear back but in the meantime I've got a job as a receptionist at a treatment rooms.

It's really calming and fun. I think it's going to help me to achieve my dream of becoming cabin crew because the job is customer-based.

I think there are so many girls who are in worse situations than me. I want to be a role model to other girls. I would tell them not to be afraid to ask for help.

What is Smart Works?

Caroline, 37, Birmingham

I was a hairdresser and I was going through a really rough time and I knew I needed a change. I had been in the same salon for 14 years. I should have left years ago but you're a creature of habit - you have to break free.

I'd gone to the Job Centre and got an interview for a course to become a carer and they told me about Smart Works.

The last time I went for a job interview was 14 years ago so it was a little bit nerve-wracking. I thought, what the hell do I wear? You want to look professional but you don't want to look like your mum.