The lack of timely and coordinated support for young people with disabilities can impact their objective to become independent adults and have the same opportunities to achieve as their non-disabled peers.
Unfortunately, despite some of the progress around equality and inclusion, young people across the UK remain more disadvantaged when it comes to work and a career if they have a disability or long-term health condition and there are plenty of stats which appear to reflect this. There is still much work to do to ensure the right support is provided and still some myth busting to be done when it comes to the employment of people with disabilities.
If you are aware of the ECHP system here in the UK, you will know that this is there to help children at school on their journey. However, it can depend on what part of the country you are in, as it is not always a given that this support will be granted. I count myself as relatively fortunate that I had support through a Maths tutor and after school English classes to help me achieve the desired grades at school. Without this, I had no extra time during exams, and as such my education may not have helped me to achieve independence.
The services we offer at Enrych truly are a lifeline to people in this regard. Through the business connections we have made , we have created opportunities for those we support to become more confident people in our local community. We approach things from multiple angles, so that we are supporting our people in ways that truly enhance their lives and improve their opportunities. First and foremost are our events and activities. I myself run a Boccia group at Ashby Leisure Centre and Lido on a Tuesday afternoon from 12:30 to 2:30, and we offer a similar event with additional sports at Whitwick and Coalville Leisure Centre on a Thursday. I also volunteer to coordinate a social group on a Friday from 10:00 till 12:00 at Scotland’s Park Bowls Club in Coalville. All of these activities, as well as the many other activities and events organised, help our clients to make long-lasting friendships that vastly improve their wellbeing. I believe it is so important that every one of us at Enrych celebrate even the small wins as more and more people attend our events, or come to meet us in the office. This is a true reflection of the fact that what we do is working, and it is crucial that we continue to make an impact on people especially within our constituency.
I have heard it said so many times recently that our healthcare system works in the UK is a “sickness service” rather than a health service. It looks after people when they are unwell, rather than helping people to live well and not need to use services to the point where they become overstretched. This, in turn, creates more delays for people, especially those pursuing a diagnosis of a neurodivergent condition. It is imperative that we focus on removing the delays to diagnosis of these conditions, so that support can be accessed at the point of need. It can make so much difference to someone’s life if they get this and everyone deserves to have the same opportunity to thrive. Then it is about increasing the provisions of support generally, with healthcare professionals, educational professionals, and other people involved in the lives of those more vulnerable people, involved in answering the question: “how do we improve that long-term outlook?” Charities also have a significant part to play and they want to help people live full and meaningful lives. Many, like Enrych, are all about keeping people well, preventing severe illness and reducing pressure on other services. However, more recently we have also found ourselves dealing with individual crisis after crisis with limited resources and funding.
I’m incredibly proud of my personal story, as many of you who read my blog regularly will know.. Enrych has always believed in me and given me the confidence to grow in the workplace and become a valuable and valued employee. Over time, I have added a number of strings to my bow. From day one, I was given the opportunity to interview fundraising partners about their decision to support our Feel Good Café, I have written and recorded content I am passionate about, I have assisted in running events, and I have delivered a presentation which makes organisations more aware of how to support disabled talent. I am truly grateful for the opportunities Enrych has given me and it will always be an organisation that is close to my heart. But the impact the organisation has on me doesn’t stop with the workplace alone. I have been supported to make meaningful friendships and connections with people who I value hugely, and ultimately supported to become confident in expressing myself within the community. I am determined to use this confidence to help others, particularly people who are not neurotypical and engage with our employability programme, so that they feel ready to enter the world of work. With the lived experiences I can share with them, I feel in a great position to help to make the world of work more accessible,, and help companies open the door to a much more diverse pool of talent. It may be on a small scale but it makes a big difference to the individuals we support. And the more we shout about our success, the more we can encourage others to replicate it.
To ensure that adults with disabilities can live independently, there needs to be much broader support. This also includes access to the housing market. We all know how the cost of living is impacting and this is often heightened for those living with a disability and/or long-term health condition. I believe this could be tacked at the point when planning applications are being made. Houses or community buildings should be built with disabled people at the heart of the consultation process. There should always be acknowledgement of the potential access needs of disabled individuals when building a house, or a community venue. This would go a long way towards increasing disabled people’s input into key decision making and their trust in those making decisions about their communities.
So back to the main question I wanted to address here: How can society prevent people from feeling “written off” again? We must start early and this means during their time in education (if not before). There needs to be a way for organisations like Enrych to have conversations with schools and colleges that could result in pathways being tailored to each individual so that we can work collaboratively help build the skills they can use in a job. We also need to communicate with transport companies, and companies with invested interests in improving the social lives of people with disabilities in particular, as one of the main issues for some people, including myself… is that we have to arrange alternative travel due to being unable to drive. If public transport continues to be as unreliable as it is, this still provides a stumbling block in achieving social and work-related goals. With appropriate provisions in place both in terms of supporting people on the pathway into work, and also social inclusion, we can create a different narrative – not one that leaves disabled people disengaged… but instead one that rewrites public perception about what disabled people have to offer.
And if you have read this and would like to help, Enrych want to develop a career profiling tool that will help young people make the best choices about work as they leave education. We need funding to do this so if you can help, please do get in touch with me at sam.killip@enrych.org.uk.
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