My role as a carer is much more than a job ... it’s my calling
Charity Sense Scotland, which supports hundreds of disabled people and their families in thousands of projects and services, this week embarked on a recruitment drive for support workers in Lanarkshire. It also launched a new Facebook jobs page, @SenseScotlandJobs, which shares inspiring stories about the people it supports and those who care for them. We met Craig McCallion, who delivers that high standard of round-the-clock support to a Coatbridge man who has complex needs. Here, he explains how both their lives are enriched by the special bond they share. His role as the dedicated support worker to a Coatbridge man who has complex needs has given Craig McCallion the privilege of being able to walk in someone else’s shoes.
His position with charity Sense Scotland is a massive departure for the one-time digital designer of false teeth and jeweller’s polisher of diamonds.
To Craig, the caring role he embarked on three years ago is much more than a job. He believes it to be his calling.
He supports a Bargeddie man whose complex needs mean he requires someone to be on hand 24-hours a day.
Unlike his previous jobs, Craig can’t simply put down his tools at the end of a shift, close the door and walk away.
He plays a massive part in the life of the man he is proud to support. And both their lives are all the richer for it.
Craig was only 16 years-old when he joined the world of work as a dental technology apprentice.
During his 12 years with a Glasgow firm, his excellent hand-eye coordination helped him excel and he worked his way up the ranks to a role in CADCAM digital dentistry.
“It came to a point in 2016 when, as much as I loved the job and was good at it, it was not fulfilling me,” said Craig, 30.
“I started looking about. I wanted something different, but along the same lines as what I was good at.
“I took a job in a jewellery workshop and ended up finishing and polishing diamond rings.
“It sounds strange, but there are similarities with dental technology. I was good at the job and enjoyed it.
“But after three years, I felt something was missing. I was doing the same thing every day.
“It was repetitive and I was feeling the urge to try something else, to branch out and explore new options on my career path.
“That’s when I started to think about what other skills I have and what I like to do.”
With a mum who has been in home care all her working life, Craig took pleasure in looking after his gran, taking her shopping and doing odd jobs around the house.
A friend and former dentistry colleague had moved into a support worker role and was enthusing about it.
On researching a career in care, he found that many firms and organisations sought to fill vacancies with candidates who have experience in the care sector.
But the advertisement placed on a jobs board by Sense Scotland was different. The charity promised training and on-the-job learning.
“When I looked at their website, the first thing I was drawn to was the stories of families and people who are supported by Sense,” explained Craig.
“I was completely drawn into what Sense Scotland do and the standard of care they provide. That got me really interested.
“They were looking for someone with natural abilities they can bring to the job.”
Craig was offered the role in December 2017 and took up his post the following February.
Following an induction, he began training and observation, as well as “shadow shifts”.
“When you start any new job, it can be overwhelming,” he said.
“But from day one, I thought, ‘This is different. This could be what I am looking for’.
“The training gave me massive confidence. It made me feel comfortable, like I was ready for this. It’s so much more than being a support worker in a care position. It’s supporting people to be their best. It is all about them.”
Even during his interview, the woman who would become his manager recognised something in Craig’s bubbly personality that struck a chord.
She believed him to be the perfect fit for a man who was supported by Sense Scotland.
Craig and the man were introduced early on, and he still provides full-time support to him to this day.
Craig works 14-and-a-half hour shifts and also sleeps over at the man’s home in case he needs to get up in the night.
“I am asleep, but I’m alert,” he explained.
“You get to know the noises and sounds and you wake up automatically. I suppose it’s like a parent who’s sleeping, but still listening out for their child.”
When the pair met, the man Craig supports was receiving care in the community during the day, returning home to his family in the evening.
Craig was there for him every step of the way when he was able to make the transition to independent living in his own home.
“It was amazing and rewarding to see that,” he said.
At the heart of the many things Craig does for the
person he supports is ensuring that, although he has multiple complex needs, he is realising his full potential.
He needs help with personal care, household chores, shopping and organisational skills, and Craig supports him through his medical appointments, helping him to communicate.
“We don’t just go in and do everything for them,” stressed Craig, who lives in Glasgow with his wife, Lauren, and their two cats. “You are there to support them, to make sure they have a great quality of life.
“If they are capable of doing something, we are there to support that and make sure they can do stuff, and feel rewarded by that accomplishment.
“I help with hobbies and little things, like if a family member has a birthday coming up. We are going in, but keeping them independent.”
The pandemic brought with it particular challenges for people who are supported by Sense Scotland, and for the charity’s support workers, who received additional training to ensure they and the people they care for felt safe and protected.
For people like the man who is supported by Craig, structure is imperative in their everyday lives. “With Covid, everything came to a standstill for the people we support,” said Craig.
“How do you tell them they cannot go anywhere when they don’t understand what a virus is? How do you make things comfortable and good with their mental and physical health?
“We put our heads together as a team, took the activities planner and flipped it around to make it an in-the-house planner.”
Unable to take part in circuit training, trampolining and hand weights at the Matt Busby Centre in Bellshill, Craig found a way to bring these physical activities into the home of the man he supports, in keeping with his familiar routine.
He was able take part in the dance classes he so enjoyed through online coaching, and Craig added during lockdown new, stimulating home-based activities, including baking.
“At night, he likes to draw and watch TV,” Craig explained.
“We kept his structure to make sure it all wasn’t too much of a shock to the system.
“When I started working with the man I support, I noticed he loves a good dance, just like me. I’m always first up on the dance floor. He is bubbly and outgoing and so am I. I am a runner and quite into fitness. He and I have a right good time with that. You’re in their life, supporting them 24 hours a day. As much as it is very professional, of course you build a relationship with them. We have a great time.”
Craig says he and the person he supports learn from each other.
Because English is not the man’s first language, Craig learns words and phrases from his mother tongue, which gives them both a sense of achievement.
“I can take that into my personal life and it makes me feel like a better person,” continued Craig, who laments that there are not more men carving a career for themselves in the care sector.
“In doing this job, I take on as a person in everyday life the core values of being open and honest. Building relationships through trust is something that’s very important in life.
“I love my job and I love supporting the man I support. I learn a lot from him.
“Yes, it’s a rewarding job – but it’s so much more than that. Being able to understand things differently when you deal with people from all walks of life has made me more confident.
“It’s amazing to walk in someone else’s shoes. I can honestly say I’m happy and proud to be a man in care.”