Charity virtually supports disabled people seeking work
A charity supporting disabled people and people with long term health conditions has this week been awarded £5000 by the Community Foundation of Surrey’s Covid-19 Response Fund, to keep an employment project going during the crisis.
Possability People’s ‘Get Set Surrey’ provides support for disabled job seekers in Guildford, Epsom, Woking, Staines and Weighbridge. The grant will allow them to adapt services to offer intense support through video chat, online workshops and telephone calls.
Angela Graham, the service manager, says: “Many of our participants have complex needs and are shielding or self-isolating, so our one to one phone support and online workshops are vital to them. We are their friend, their crisis support and signposting service at a time when they are extremely vulnerable”.
The Get Set course supports disabled people and people with long term health conditions (including mental health conditions) who are thinking about getting into work. It includes a range of topics, from writing a good CV and doing interviews to digital job applications, confidence building, managing anxiety and learning how to manage a health condition or impairment at work.
Chris Abrahams, a course participant said: “Without this amazing service I wouldn’t have the coping strategies in place to be able to face the current situation”.
Geraldine Des Moulins, Chief Officer of Possability People says: “We are so very grateful to the Community Foundation of Surrey for their donation, which means 50 people on Get Set in Surrey are supported and during this challenging time. Our worry was that self isolation would hamper the incredible progress our participants have made, especially when for lots of people, actually leaving their homes was a big achievement. We can now keep people connected to the programme and to each other, so that when life starts to return to normal, they won’t have such a big challenge ahead”.