Grieving mother who overcame tragedy honored

A mother-of-two from Bilston who was left grieving after losing her husband to cancer has been honored for turning her life around. Laura Cox and her children, aged seven and 14, had their lives shattered when her husband Ian died around four years ago of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

But her determination to overcome pain and mental health issues and return to training earned her the Inspirational Learning Award at the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Adult Learning Awards on Thursday (July 27). She started a public service training course with skills provider Release Potential and now has a job as a learning support officer.

But she said she could never imagine being in the position she is in today during those dark days. Laura said: “It was hard. I’ve been through a lot, I’ve had to raise two kids on my own after losing my husband and then I’ve suffered really badly with my mental health and anxiety and then I’ve had to move forward trying to work out what I’m going to do do.

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“At that point, I was stuck in that situation and I was really questioning my own mortality. I was 32 at the time and it was a massive thing to go through. I had to deal with raising two children on my own, which I never imagined. not at all.

“In addition to doing this for myself, I also do this for my children. The most important thing in my life.” Her job coach recommended she take the Release Potential course which she enjoyed, taking inspiration from her first tutor James Denton.

Laura said: “When Gaye Hutchinson (CEO of Release Potential) nominated me for it I said ‘no, I’ll never win’ but then she came back and told me I was absolutely blown away. Still stunned now. It’s a bit surreal.

“Not only do I want to gain more skills working with people with educational needs, I want to focus more on that because I have it in my family. It’s something I really want to progress further and just as well, by working. to help people with mental health – having suffered myself, I can be ears to listen, but I’m not in a position to give any advice, so I want to be able to help people.”

The awards, held at the ICC in Birmingham, were hosted by Birmingham-born former EastEnders star Nicholas Bailey, along with West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker. A total of 13 awards were presented to learners and training providers during the 90-minute ceremony.

Marshire Bynoe, 30, won the Apprenticeship Award after fulfilling his dream of becoming a mechanic through a Level 3 apprenticeship with Sandwell College and Direct Line Group. He now works repairing vehicles involved in accidents for Direct Line. He said: “It’s nice to be recognized for what you’ve done. I was laid off during Covid.

“All the sites we looked after when we were doing the electricity all closed their doors. After so long the company lost money and had to let us go. It was hard on everyone and hard on life at home. Very hard.

“I’ve always had an interest in cars and I could either keep doing what I was doing, which I didn’t like, or take a risk and do something I knew I would enjoy. It’s everything I wanted, I love it, it’s a great job.”