A job, and a life rescued from addiction
Why do some kids do it? Nikki Riley would say that society would be justified in feeling impatient with her decision to drift into alcohol and drug addiction from the age of 14 years.
How do some people do it? At 28, Nikki has beaten off the addiction demons that have controlled half her young life and got herself a job.
The result is the first triumph for the partnership between personnel firm Drake International 
and Wesley Mission, Sydney to repair the lives of clients at Wesley Rehabilitation Services (WRS) and help them to re-discover their potential.
Guided by Nerida Dunkerly at WRS, Nikki Riley had completed a Certificate 4 in Education on Drug and Alcohol Issues as part of her rehabilitation. The course was funded by Wesley Mission. “That gave me a foothold on coming back to normal life,” she said.
The rehab was complete but Nikki was still in the limbo of dependency that addiction causes.
Thirteen years of captivity to alcohol, heroin and other substances dries up an addict’s drive to live productively, drains her of good sense and optimism.
“I thought I’d lost it, I thought I was a loser,” Nikki said, describing how she felt in April this year when consultants from Drake International came to WRS.
“But when I went to talk to them, it was great!”
Drake offered resume-writing courses to the rehab clients and began individual discussions about their hopes for getting work.
“I told Drake that I’d done a bit of admin work in the past. They said, ‘Come in and we’ll see what can be done’,” said Nikki. She was put through an afternoon of assessments and interview coaching. To counter her nervousness, Drake gave her role-play guidance, and to build up her skills and confidence, Drake found her temporary work as a start.
“It gave me a sense of confidence in myself. I felt that I was going in the right direction in my life,” Nikki said.
She tried her employment wings with a couple of days’ work at Wesley Mission’s HR Department. No problems.
She took on several weeks’ of admin. work at St Vincent’s Private Hospital.
With her heart in her mouth, Nikki then went for an interview for a full-time job in a law firm – a legal career is what she really wants.
“Yes!” she punched the air while celebrating with Drake recruitment consultant Vicki Neil at the Wesley Mission Spirit of Mission dinner on 30 May, “I made it!”. She had started in the new job that week. Confident, smiling, Nikki is a world away from the broken woman who had entered WRS a year ago.
As the song goes, she can fly higher than an eagle … she’s got the wind beneath her wings.
– Dinoo Kelleghan
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