Employment and Support Service to Reach Out to More Disabled People
Press Release Details
- Ref
- 2668
- Date
- Fri, 17 Nov 2006 15:49:22
17 November 2006
This service, which comprises Mencap, Status Employment, Welfare Benefits Advice and Care Management was set up early in 2006, initially to provide ex-Crosfield supported employees with the appropriate level of support to achieve and sustain employment. It received grant funding from the council for an initial three-year period.
The remodelled service has received a further boost from Job Centre Plus who recently confirmed that they will continue with their contract until March 2008, ensuring future funding for the service.
Since April, 15 people have been helped to find jobs, five people have retired; eleven people have decided not to seek paid employment; 35 are still using the service and ten people have made other arrangements.
Based at the former site of Crosfield Industries, the service now has capacity to help support more disabled people gain skills, experience and the confidence required to move into the employment market. For it to expand, it is vital that the service moves to a more accessible location, that a greater number of Croydon residents can reach.
Although premises have yet to be found, it is possible that the service could be operating from the centre of Croydon from as early as next summer. The council will ensure that those clients who have been used to commuting to the old factory site on the Purley Way, are offered the support and travel training they need to access the new facilities.
Croydon’s cabinet member for health and social care, Councillor Margaret Mead, said: “Basing the Employment and Support Service at Imperial Way initially helped to provide a form of stability for the former employees of Crosfield, many of whom have since engaged with the service or have found employment elsewhere.
“We now need to look at ways that the service can be developed to reach out to even more disabled people across the borough so that they too can receive support to access work placements or paid employment.”
