My son Jamie has worked at Endeavour Industries in Mackay for over 10 years. He is happy when working and feels very proud of himself because of the things that the supervisors have taught him to do He now works in the shed ,on a pallet machine and with a screw gun making pallets . he is sometimes on the wood saw too or in the paint shed. they have taught him to clean toilets too ,the only thing is he will clean the one at work but says the home one is my job. All the staff down there are Brilliant , and Jamie always says the friends he`s made are great too. They are a great bunch.

As parents of a 39 y.o.man with psychiatric problems we are extremely grateful that he has been employed in a supportive work environment for many years. We are well aware of, and appreciate the benefits the support and encouragement his employers have given him. Job security, social interaction, understanding and guidance have been offered to him and given his life purpose and stability. The managers have made themselves available to discuss with our son both work-place and personal problems. We fear for our son's mental & physical health, happiness & quality of living should Australian Disability Enterprises be forced to reduce employment opportunities, reduce hours of work, or close completely. Until now we have thought that his workplace would "be there' to offer support to our son when we are no longer able.

Khesan Green started work at Good Samaritan Industries (GSI) in September 2011 after attending Kalamunda High School and participating in the school’s Supported Workplace Learning – this is how she became a GSI employee. Khesan stated that apart from learning lots of work skills she also feels she has learnt a lot of life skills. These include – making friends, building up her self-esteem, having the confidence to speak up when needed. These are skills that have also helped her in her personal life. Kehesan enjoys working at GSI doing different jobs which include – folding linen, working on the belt taking of a variety of donations and helping her fellow co-workers. It is wonderful to note that Khesan has recently become engaged – she met her fiancé at GSI.

It is important for me when I work at Yarra View nursery to learn lots of things about plants ,When I’m doing my course is good and I’m learning about the environment. I liked that I have plenty of good friends here and its easy for me to come and go to work with transport. Money is important to me but being comfortable at work is more important I like to get paid taking my holidays and I had a good holiday this year in Port Douglas I would go and work somewhere else if I could find something that would be better than here but I think that might be hard When I worked in open employment I was made redundant 3 times at the places I worked. At Yarra View Nursery I keep my job and can learn and take responsibility in my tube team, staff trust me to do work.

I don’t care what work I have to do at Yarra View Nursery but I do like working with camellias and over the years I have learnt lots of things about them and some of the names of plants, there is even one with my name. It is important that I can work with my friends and out in the open I don’t mind that I don’t get a lot of money but I get a pension. The staff are great and my supervisor looks after me and makes sure I’m happy. I have been learning lots of things to do in the Nursery

I like to work at Yarra View Nursery in supported employment because the staff are friendly and I have made heaps of friends I used to work at a child care centre and it was closed down and while I was there I didn’t make many friends some staff were nice to me and some were not. It is important for me working at the nursery that I can learn lots of new skills and I am doing a nursery course. My supervisor gives me support and teaches me new things and gives me responsibility doing masters orders My pay is important to me but also I like to come to work to see my friends, I can take holidays and get paid for them The most important thing about my work at Yarra View Nursery is the opportunity to learn and be happy at work

I like working at Endeavour, doing the recycling paper and mixing dirt and bagging it for pot plants. I like doing different tasks it makes my day a lot more interesting. I have learnt some niche skills doing labels, sealing etc. I have lots of friends. Its easier to work at Endeavour because of my friends. I used to work at a timber yard. It was very hard lifting heavy wood and I was bullied. This big dude bullied me, he called me names and ridiculed me and made me feel sad and angry and I didn’t like working there.

I get to do lots of different types of jobs that are interesting where I work. We are doing a job now that is from the USA and we have to put the information on them to conform to Australian Standards I have heaps of friends at work, we go to the movies, go to each other’s places and hang out together. I worked in open employment in Victoria, in the kitchen in child care and a retirement village and also in the kitchen at a pub. I liked the work. I didn’t mind working in open employment but I feel more comfortable working at Endeavour. It is my friends at Endeavour that make working here the best place for me.

I like most of the jobs at Endeavour, I find work interesting because there are lots of tasks. I am happy because we are doing good things for society…recycling paper and that is good for the environment. The work environment here is good, I don’t have to be ashamed of myself and my disability. The staff are really good working out people’s strength and weaknesses getting the right people to do the right jobs. I have learnt that different people have different abilities, that everyone has a different life experience and that everyone can learn from each other. I have learnt that it is important to be myself and be proud of who I am. I have worked in open employment and it was stressful, there was pressure to work the job on their terms and become the type of person they wanted me to be. I found that staff and management were unsympathetic to my disability. I feel that I am in a place where I feel safe and I don’t feel threatened. I was bullied in other places I have worked at.

My name is Diane and I’m a mother of an employee at an ADE. My son suffers short term memory loss and if his supervisor thinks he will forget something we will find notes in his bag reminding him to tell us of days when he has pizza or a BBQ for lunch. A phone call will inform us about changes at work. These considerations have shown us that they are understanding of his injury and we feel confident that we have chosen the right place. My son sees himself as a valuable member of the community. Working at Flagstaff has enabled him to develop independence within the confines of a workplace that understands what challenges he faces. There have been opportunities for him to showcase Flagstaff in the community with the support of a supervisor. My son that started at Flagstaff 9 years ago is certainly different to the one that works there now. We are very proud of his achievements and are very aware that these achievements are due in part to the support he has received from his supervisors, staff and friends at Flagstaff