INCLUSION, ACCEPTANCE and OPPORTUNITIES …

Inclusion, Acceptance and Opportunities for us all ……. who live with a disability.

We want INCLUSION into mainstream

We want ACCEPTANCE in our community

We want the OPPORTUNITY to shine !!!

Inclusion is important for our wellbeing. There is an awful lot of people in our communities with some form of disability suffering in silence because they are made to feel different.

So next time a person with a disability crosses your path, give them a smile, say hi, show them some love.

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I want to talk about employment opportunities for people with a disability … those of us who can work, who want to work, yet don’t get the opportunity to do so.

I’ve come across employers who still have that perception of employing

someone with a disability as being too hard, too high maintenance, even though we may be qualified for the position.

Are you aware that a person with a disability can and do work harder than most because

• we appreciate and value the position given to us
• we feel we need to prove we’re capable of doing the work
• we don’t want to let our employer down

I know its wrong for us to think this way but it is what it is …..

I want to say to employers – “take a chance on us, we won’t let you down”. So the next time your looking to fill a position, think about employing someone with a disability.

There are government agencies out there willing to work with you the employer to setup a work space for your employee. They’ll work with you both to get it right. There are other government incentives out there to that including wage subsidies.

I’m not saying everyone with a disability can and should work, I’m saying those of us who want to just need the opportunity to show our worthiness, please give us a chance.

https://www.jobaccess.gov.au/ – this link is for EMPLOYERS and EMPLOYEES (with a disability) wanting help to get into the work force.

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I was fortunate enough to have had a couple of GREAT employers

throughout my working life. I want to share with you how my last position came about. It was in a Pharmacy here in my local community. The position was advertised as a part-time but when I arrived for the interview it turned out to be a full-time position they we’re wanting to fill. I was so disappointed, it would have been perfect. I explained to the manager about my disability and how I couldn’t possibility work full-time. It would have been too tiring for me. I was ready to leave his office without the position,

when he said to me – “Tracey, we would love to have you work for us, would you give me a couple of days, I’m sure I can find something for you”. I left his office thinking to myself – “don’t get your hopes up Tracey, no ones that nice”. Well I was so very wrong …. Mr Colley (my employers name) created a position for me. I was given 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, on the afternoon/evening shift. It was the quietest time of the day and would be less taxing on me. I worked that position for about 6 years. The pharmacy changed hands and my new employer was just as understandable. By then my disability was progressing and standing for 4 + hours was becoming difficult, so he allowed me to transition into an office position. I was still working 4 hour a day, 5 days a week. When it came time for me to slow down some more, Henry (my employer) suggested job share,

where I could share my position with another person. That other person turned out to be my sister. Job share is a fantastic idea and it allowed me to continue working for another few years.

I worked with some of the most compassionate and caring people throughout my working life. I had the support and understanding that came with my limitations, yet I never let them see how much I struggled on the inside. I struggled with inner demons most my working life. Acceptance of my disability, self worth and embarrassment. I was so embarrassed of the way I walked, it was my No.1 struggle at that time in my life and here I was in the public eye daily. Its was bad …. its was a very unhappy time for me.

I now feel so grateful to have had the opportunity to work. It gave me a purpose, something I needed yet I wasn’t aware of it at the time. I stopped working in 1996. If only I had the support I have now ….

Inclusion helped my focus on something other than myself during a time in my life where I could have just simply given up.

I hope that someday we can all live in a world of INCLUSION, ACCEPTANCE AND OPPORTUNITY for us all.

Facebook – fb.me/lifesjourneyonwheeles

Messages – m.me/lifesjourneyonwheeles

I have another Facebook Page – What is FSHD? Awareness and Fundraising Page. The condition I was born with.

FACEBOOK –fb.me/whatisFSHD

MESSAGES – m.me/whatisFSHD

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