A BARRHEAD woman is set to hit our TV screens as the star of a campaign to help recruit more home carers across East Renfrewshire.
Beverly Pender appears in the advert, which will be broadcast on STV this month, and she will also feature on posters at bus stops across the area.
She works as a home carer with East Renfrewshire Council, mainly supporting people in Barrhead and Neilston.
And 30-year-old Beverly admits her new-found fame will be a strange experience.
“It’ll be funny to see myself on TV and bus stops,” she told the Barrhead News, “but it was a lot of fun doing the filming.”
Mum-of-two Beverly has lived in Barrhead most of her life and has been a home carer for 13 years.
“I love it,” she said. “I did social care at college for two years and the job opportunity came up to be a home carer, so I started part-time and really enjoyed it.
“After a couple of months, I made the decision to go full-time and I’ve been in it ever since.”
Home carers provide a vital service to vulnerable residents across East Renfrewshire, helping them remain independent in their own home.
It’s an important role that involves everything from administering medication to using specialist equipment, all with the aim of enhancing the quality of life for people who use the service.
No formal qualifications are needed to be a home carer, with full training provided.
According to the council, those who want to pursue this career path need to have a caring attitude, patience and an eye for detail, as well as enjoying being in other people’s company.
Beverly said: “I just love helping people every day. It’s great when you can put a smile on someone’s face.
“Some of the people we support don’t have many family or friends near them, so I brighten up their day.
“You definitely need to have a heart and a totally caring side and a lot of patience and a lot of respect because you’re in someone’s home.”
The role can involve helping people get used to being back at home if they’ve been in hospital or helping them stay at home longer.
Beverly added: “Most clients can do things for themselves – you’re assisting them and giving them prompts.
“I also like it because you’re out in the community, you have a lot of anonymity and there’s not really much paperwork.
“It’s pretty much you and an individual – spending time and caring for their needs, as you would with a family member.”
Beverly insists there is no other career she is interested in pursuing.
“It’s a job for life and I love it,” she added.
Michael Williams is another Barrhead resident who works as a home carer with East Renfrewshire Council.
He joined the team in July last year and hasn’t looked back.
“I was a care worker for six years before joining the council,” said Michael.
“I’m glad I made the move and I really like helping people who need it. That could be something simple like helping them because they’re not feeling well enough to get their own breakfast or they could have much more complex needs.
“Every new house is a completely new scenario.”
Michael didn’t always work in home care. He was employed in a café when a regular customer who was a carer kept saying the job would be ideal for him too.
“This is a job you can come into with a desire to help people and to get the qualifications while you’re here,” said Michael.
“A lot of people don’t realise we’re professionally registered in this job.
“We get our SVQ2 in Health and Social Care and, if you don’t have that, the council fund that for you and help you gain the qualification.”
Having not worked in home care before, Michael has quickly become an important member of the team and a lifeline to his clients.
He added: “The training was really good, with the council providing specialised sessions with nurses, OTs (occupational therapists) and others who were experts in their specific area, so it was very good.”
Michael says it’s a job he can see himself doing for years to come and, like Beverly, he believes that living and working locally is a big positive.
“I love living and working in Barrhead,” he added. “I don’t drive, so I get to see a lot of Barrhead while I’m walking between clients.”
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