Kenneth's Story

Kenneth was a high flyer. He was once marketing director of the historical Illustrated London News and he ran a shop selling the 'champagne of fabrics’ Harris Tweed.

But his life changed dramatically when he was badly beaten by thugs on a trip back to his native New Zealand to see his sick mother.

He received such traumatic brain injury that he was in hospital for three months and faced months of rehabilitation following the horrendous attack.

"No one will employ me now in a stressful job," he says matter-of-factly. "But Thrive has given me a chance to re-train and do something completely different."

Kenneth completed our successful Working it Out programme which offers all the training and support to gain the skills and qualifications needed to get a job in gardening.

"My brain is damaged. That is something I have had to face up to. It will never get better. I suffer short term memory loss and blackouts.

"A traumatic brain injury also scars you in a different way. You become socially withdrawn.
"Thrive has been fantastic. There is no competition and you work at your own pace. People help each other here, there is no pressure."

And Kenneth has already taken a step forward into the world of work. His skills, knowledge and enthusiasm was noticed by Beverley Robb who runs her own small business, My Village Window Box Company – a window box planting and watering service exclusive to The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

This story was taken from the Thrive website find link below
http://thrive.org.uk/kenneths-story.aspx