The value of employment & volunteering
In this blog we spoke to Stephen Brown, Co-production & Employment Partner, about the value of contributing through employment and volunteering and how he helps the people we support to explore opportunities.
Achieve together’s Wheel of Engagement includes many important areas, and one section that strongly complements the others is Employment and Volunteering. At its core, this area is about enabling people to contribute to their communities and experience the many benefits that contribution brings. Having a role (whether paid or voluntary) can create purpose, build confidence, build connections, and support wellbeing across many parts of life.
Many people we support are already involved in work or volunteering in ways that reflect their skills and interests. Some manage this independently, while others receive support from their teams. For teams working with someone who wants to explore employment but isn’t sure where to begin, I’m here to help.
My role is to offer informed guidance around finding work. This includes:
• Discussing how employment may interact with benefits (a common concern, and yes, working while receiving benefits is possible!)
• Signposting to local employment services and potential volunteering opportunities
• Supporting people to update their CVs
• Providing tools and resources that help teams and the people they support find meaningful ways to contribute
Contribution doesn’t always look traditional. Take Mark from Watford, for example. Late last year, he self-published a short sci-fi novel on Amazon and is already working on the follow-up. His achievement is a great reminder that contributing can take many forms. “It feels pretty good to have a book published,” says Mark. “It’s Roarsome!” (Pun fully intended, Mark’s book features dinosaurs!)
Our newly formed Unity Employment Leads group is also championing employment as a positive outcome for the people we support. The group focuses on promoting contribution as wonderful ingredient for a happy, healthy life, whatever form that contribution may take. We recently released a video on our app, A Guide to Access to Work, featuring British Sign Language. This government programme provides practical in-work support, and in the video the group explains what it is and shares helpful tips on how to apply.
The Employment Leads’ next project is to promote the newly rolled-out UK Government Connect to Work scheme across Achieve together homes. This national supported-employment programme aims to help people with disabilities and health conditions into work, and we hope many of the people we support will be able to benefit from this new initiative.
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