Workman Bob!!! Robert has been working at “Gumnut Place” in Rob’s words ‘longer than he can remember”. He has actually been there since November 25th, 2004. Rob (‘Bob’ at work) says he loves his job, and works very hard over 4 days, from Monday to Thursday. He has a variety of tasks that keep him busy, however he has narrowed them down, as ‘there are too many to write down’. Rob has a very tricky job where he strips bark from the wood with a chisel. This makes sure that the wood is even and smooth. He then carefully places the boards in position to make up wooden pallets. I asked Rob if he wears any protective clothing when doing these jobs. Rob told me he doesn’t get splinters, or cuts on his hands as he wears thick leather workman gloves. He is very careful to wear his safety glasses so he won’t get anything in his eyes. Rob says he wears steel cap boots so it doesn’t hurt if one of the wooden boards falls onto his toes. Rob says at work he always enjoys talking to all of his mates, and his Supervisors Kev and Harry. He is ‘proud to work at Gumnut’, and it makes him ‘feel good to have a job’. At the end of the day, Rob says he sits down at the dinner table and has a meal with his housemates at BASS, and then ‘gets some rest, ready to go to work the next day’.
Thanks Rob, it was wonderful to hear you tell me all about your job.

Hello! my name is Ray I have worked at Wangarang Industries in Orange for a short time. I enjoy working their and do the jobs I have to do and also I go out on crews to different places and I find Crew Leaders I go with show me the way the have to be done, I feel they do a great job. My Disability is Epilepsy. Wangarang has supported me in my many social activities

Hi! there My name is Marie i have worked at Wangarang Industries in Orange for 43 Years. I feel I have achieved a lot in these years, eg working in the kitchen and also in Administration and being a worker on the work floor and showing the Staff what I am capable of doing. And I feel proud in doing the jobs I do eg answering the phone photo copying sending faxes mailing invoices and writing out receipts also taking messages. Other jobs I have done are Electrolux and mail outs. I feel with my Disability being Visually Impaired (legally blind) I found these jobs very challenging and the way the Supervisor and Co-Workers have been very patient with me.I would like to say only for Wangarang Industries being there and giving me these opportunities I would not have achieved my golds and support in these years.

Our daughter, Amy, is a happy, confident young lady who works at Flagstaff Enterprises, Unanderra. Before she obtained her job here, she was a lonely, unhappy lady with very little or no confidence. She has worked at Flagstaff Fine Foods for over seven years now and through the staff's guidance and patience, Amy now masters many roles in the fine food preparations. She has gained many lifelong friends which has led to her having a wonderful social life. Due to all of the above, she has now gained a more confident personality, is more positive about "being able to do", whereas before she believed she could not. She is happy in herself and her life which is all a parent wants. Through working at Flagstaff she feels valued as a person and knows she contributes to society. If Amy had not obtained her job at Flagstaff, she would still be at home not wanting to leave. She would have been unconfident, probably friendless and one of us would have stopped work to make sure her mental state did not deteriorate to a state of depression. So thanks to Flagstaff, Amy's life is very much more positive and happier than it was.
She has friends of similar disposition that she can communicate with and is made to feel worthwhile. Without Flagstaff for Amy, I really don't know what her future or ours would have been but I can tell you, it would be pretty dark.

I work for an organisation that operates an ADE so am in regular contact with people with varying levels of disability. I support the ADE because it is very obvious to me the many benefits the ADE provide to these people with disabilities. I believe the ADE employees gain a significant amount of confidence and self esteem through actively participating in employment. The opportunity to have this employment simply would not be available to them without ADEs. I fear that if funding for ADEs were to be removed the disabled employees would quickly fall into depression and become increasingly more dependant on carers and support workers.

In a city like Bundaberg that has ben ravaged by natural disasters in recent years and has seen a huge decline in employment with farms becoming more and more mechanised with fewer physically demanding positions available and with already one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, there is huge competiveness for jobs. For a most people with disabilities there is no opportunities to become a contributor to society both socially and financially through employment. ADE's provide that opportunity. Without them, large numbers of people with disability are solely dependant on welfare and support to achieve day to day tasks. If anything we need more ADE's.

I work at Phoenix in SA and am very happy with the pay and conditions and am excited everyday to go to work. I want to leave everything the same and just enjoy my work, which is much better than staying at home all day. Gareth Jellett

At 22, when most people are just starting their adult life, a car accident left Lachlan in hospital with a traumatic brain injury. Thanks to the support of House with No Steps, there have been many opportunities for Lachlan who “wanted to work. To find a paying job”. Through support from House with No Steps and Lachlan’s own determination, he was able to find work in the Summerland House Farm Nursery in Alstonville NSW. He has always enjoyed being outdoors, and now he gets to work in a place he loves. Lachlan has a tremendous work ethic and loves getting up for work in the morning. Over the years since his injury, Lachlan has had to reduce his workload to deal with the demands his body has faced so having an employer that understands the challenges of living with a disability is important.

Christine says working at GSI makes her feel important and allows her to keep her independence; "GSI has supported me in getting and keeping my job. Eg: accommodating my needs at work, giving me extra breaks to rest my knee, assisting me with my abilities to do my tasks, helping me to communicate with people. Having a job at GSI has helped me obtain a loan for my home. GSI has helped me keep my head together, keep my mind occupied, have supported me through my mother’s death. GSI has put me in touch with outside agencies who have assisted me in my personal life heaps – from getting rails in my home to assist with my balance, assistance with my vet bills for my dog, obtaining counselling for my mental health wellbeing. GSI helped me get in touch with a specialist for my shoulder. Since moving to a retail store I have made new friends, I still come back to the Warehouse to visit everyone as most of my friends work in the Warehouse. If I wasn’t with GSI I don’t know where I would be today in my life. GSI has given me a fighting chance.

Since leaving school our son, Nathan has been employed by Greenacres Disability Services an ADE organisation. Initially his low hourly pay rate concerned us but we soon realised that this had to be viewed as part of a whole situation. Nathan rightly receives a disability pension and Greenacres supplements this but, much more importantly, provides an exceptional social and developmental outlet for him and his co-workers. The supervisors in his workplace are exceptional people who go way above their basic job description and the entire organisation is to be commended. To lose this service would be an unmitigated tragedy for the local community. Greenacres offers a meaningful, purposeful lifestyle to individuals who would otherwise struggle to have one. It is imperative that Greenacres and other ADEs be supported in continuing this outstanding contribution to our society.