Sara*, now working in a hospital pharmacy, has shared her story on how our Talking Therapy and Financial Assistance services supported her through an extremely difficult time in her life.

This story contains mentions of abuse which readers may find triggering. 

“Pharmacist Support has been supporting me for over two years and with the charity’s help, I was able to flee an abusive relationship and a violent husband and move to a new city.

I emailed the charity explaining my situation and letting them know I didn’t know what to do. They directed me to their Counselling Service where I was able to receive funded counselling sessions. These sessions were extremely helpful for me to cope with my situation.

The counsellor was very helpful in giving me the courage and strength to fight everything that I had been dealing with.

When I was reaching the end of my sessions, I emailed and asked if I was able to have more as the sessions were helping me so much and I didn’t have the funds to pay for counselling myself. Thanks to Pharmacist Support, I was able to extend my sessions and receive more counselling. When these sessions eventually did come to an end, Pharmacist Support paired me with a Listening Friend. My Listening Friend phoned me every week and would spend an hour speaking to me about everything I was dealing with. These sessions gave me the courage that I could handle everything I was going through, they gave me the strength to carry on and to believe in myself. She would advise me and help me to navigate all my options, she believed in me.

My Listening Friend was unbiased, and I was heard and supported.

Even though the talking therapy was helping, I was still living in an abusive household. Due to the stress of my personal living situation and the pressure I felt to make sure my son was safe, I failed my first attempt at the registration assessment. A few months later, with the help of the police, my son and I were able to move cities. We lived together safely in a refuge, away from my toxic relationship.

I am constantly fighting to give me and my son a better life. He deserves the best education and a good upbringing. To do this, I knew I had to re-take the registration assessment. However, due to my circumstances, I didn’t have the money to be able to pay for the fees to re-take so I applied for a Pharmacist Support grant and my application was successful. The charity covered the fees so I could focus on re-sitting the assessment. I sat the autumn exam and a month later, I found out I passed!

I was now on the register and began working as a locum community pharmacist. Whilst working, I was trying to work on myself too. I attended free yoga sessions and put my son in free football sessions. However, the trauma I had been through in my life meant that my employers knew I was vulnerable and took advantage of me. One employer promised me that they would give me a company car, but when it came to putting things into practice, they backed off. One lady from an organisation told me to leave the profession and work in a school as a dinner lady, so I could “work school hours”.

Thankfully I was able to find a locum role in a hospital which treated me well and I soon will have an interview for a permanent role position. Pharmacist Support is still helping me and I have received another grant to buy a car so I can get to work. My life has changed so much since stepping into the profession. I used to be on Universal Credit and getting £600 a month – now I earn over £500 a week. Without Pharmacist Support’s help there is no way I would be in this position.

Pharmacist Support has always gone above and beyond in supporting me.

The charity has always looked at my overall situation and provided more assistance than I could ever have wished for. Even when I have just phoned the Information and Enquiries team, they always listen and give me the support and guidance I need.

There are so many hurdles that I have crossed so far, but I will never give up.

I have a change in my life thanks to the help of Pharmacist Support”.

*We’ve used a pseudonym to protect Sara’s identity.