Supporting people doing it tough over Christmas
In the lead up to Christmas Day, our employment teams wanted to make an ambitious push to support at least 300 of our employment program participants to find work.
Having employment during peak seasons like Christmas helps people provide for their families, feel more financially stable, helps support businesses, and grow our own wellbeing.
“Christmas can be a difficult time for participants and finding a job at this time of year can change not only a person’s life, but their family and the local community. The dedicated teams across our employment programs decided that we would push to change the lives of 300 participants, whilst supporting employers to meet their staffing needs,” said Karen, General Manager for Employment Programs.
“Our staff are passionate about supporting participants into employment. Providing links to employment opportunities for participants allows them to fully participate in the community and supporting them to achieve this is a key part of Ability Options being an inclusion driven organisation,” Karen said.
“We managed to exceed our goal, supporting 301 participants to gain employment through our services.”
We spoke with one of our Recruitment Mentors, Anita, who supported Catherine to land a role as a school crossing supervisor for Transport NSW.
Anita said Ability Options’ 300 Jobs for Christmas campaign helped bring the community together at such a crucial time.
“This campaign helped us make real change for the people we support, especially those who were experiencing hardship,” Anita said.
“It really brought the community together, especially in cases like my participant Catherine’s, where I was able to connect her with a local business.”
On her experience in the 300 Jobs for Christmas campaign, Catherine worked with Anita in overcoming some of the barriers her disability presents to find work.
“When I got the job, it felt amazing,” Catherine said. “It was a great experience and I love my new job.”
“Anita supported me with regular check ins to help me develop my communication skills, tips on how to stay task-focused, and helped me stay connected with my mental health support appointments.”
Since landing her job, Anita says Catherine has started being more active in her local community and feels more included – going for regular swims during her breaks, she has become active in maintaining her mental and physical health and has made some new friends through her netball team.
“When I met Catherine, she was anxious about working and socialising with others,” Anita said, “Helping Catherine build her confidence has changed her whole outlook on employment and her life.”
“My participant is extremely happy with the progress she has made.”
