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We caught up with Dr Verena Niyadurupola, founder of Rippleacts, to talk about how the organisation is supporting people who have been out of work long-term, the impact of their UEA Enterprise Fund £7,500 Grow It Grant, and the inspiring stories of participants whose lives have been transformed through their programmes.
“Having people believe in us and back our ideas makes all the difference!”
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What need does Rippleacts meet?
We support people who are long-term out of work and often struggle with mental health issues, negative self-image and lack of hope and motivation. We help our participants re-build confidence, tackle fears, build skills and work experience, and ultimately get closer to, or back into work. We also build bridges between unemployed people and employers, educating both sides and fostering empathy and understanding through dialogue and training.
Are there any stories you can share of people helped by Rippleacts?
Yes – we have just gathered four case studies from people helped by Rippleacts. These include Gavin, who is rebuilding his life after a mental health breakdown and is working to become a mental health nurse; Jason*, who is working in home maintenance after four years unemployed; Mark, who has reclaimed his confidence after a decade of isolation; and Claire*, who has regained employment and a social life after suffering traumatic events. In Claire’s words: “The Rippleacts programme was like someone throwing you a rope when you're stuck in a well. You still must put the work in to get out. But there's someone there helping you.”
*Names changed for confidentiality. Full case studies can be found here.
You have recently been awarded a £7,500 Grow It Grant. What will this allow you to do?
We have developed and launched training on Neurodiversity at Work for employers, co-created and delivered by our long-term unemployed participants with living experience of neurodiversity. Furthermore, we are in the process of developing Mental Health at Work training, similarly co-created with our participants. This will give us an important traded income source as a non-profit organisation, and empower our participants to gain work experience and an income.
What did the grant mean to you personally?
It enabled me to start the development of a new service I aspired to work on for a long time, since I have been observing neurodiversity and mental health as factors for long-term unemployment (often unnecessarily) for many years. The fact that there is no spending deadline for the grant has been an important factor in my ability to develop this new service well and at the pace that suits our organisation's current status - we're very grateful for that.
What would you say to donors who support the Enterprise Fund?
Thank you so much for supporting us. Having people believe in us and back our ideas makes all the difference! If you like what we do, please contact us directly - we'd love to discuss our work!
The Enterprise Fund is open to all students during their course and up to three years after graduation. Founded in partnership with UEA alumni, we have awarded 87 grants and investments to a value of £1.457m since the Fund’s launch, and continued the University’s long tradition of championing enterprise in everything we do.
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