Benefits of Employing Disabled People (for the employee)

Our first success story on the Evenbreak site, within a few days of it launching, is one which warms my heart. Jean Eveleigh had battled with health problems since leaving school, and in 2007 she deteriorated further, meaning she relied on a wheelchair and had to leave her job within the hospitality industry. Despite applying for many jobs, no employer seemed able or willing to deal with the issue of the wheelchair. If she mentioned she was disabled she wasn’t offered an interview. If she didn’t mention it, they cancelled the interview as soon as she said it would need to be somewhere accessible for a wheelchair.

In desperation, Jean returned to studying, hoping a degree might improve her prospects. Once again her health intervened and she had to leave her course. Feeling unemployable and unable to study, Jean felt she faced a life of never being able to use her considerable skills and prepared for a lifetime of slowly vegetating on a diet of daytime TV.

Someone pointed her towards Evenbreak, and she had a look, not really expecting much. To her surprise a role was advertised which could have been designed for her. Working hours to suit the applicant, working from home, provided they could guarantee a minimum of ten hours a week. It involved quite a bit of admin, which could even be done from bed on bad days. Jean applied for the job, was immediately taken on, and has since been promoted. She is now advertising roles on Evenbreak for her new employer!

Since then I have got to know Jean and she says that finding this job literally changed her life. She went from feeling that all she could do was rely on others to feeling she had a purpose and a value, and people are now relying on her.

There are many other success stories, and lots of other exciting things have happened since starting Evenbreak, but there’s nothing quite like the first success story to make you feel the venture is worthwhile and well worth doing, quite aside from the financial aspects.