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Bairnsdale employer gives job seeker with disability a chance to help others
4 July 2011
In October 2005, Bairnsdale resident Darren Reilly suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident resulting in partial paraplegia. The impact from his disability posed an issue for his future employment aspirations and led to years of frustration in trying to return to work.
Prior to his injury Darren had been a labourer and machinery operator. He knew that he wanted to keep working with his hands, but the loss of mobility posed a significant barrier.
He’d been without a job for a number of years. Darren said part of the problem was that he was unable to identify suitable occupations.
He said, ‘I didn’t know what I was able to do physically and I didn’t know what line of work I was looking for. Me and computers don’t get along so I wasn’t going to be any good at administration; I wanted to do something hands on,’ he said.
Darren was referred to CRS Australia by the Transport Accident Commission (TAC), Victoria's sole transport accident insurer. CRS Australia has many years experience helping people return to work after injury.
CRS Australia worked intensively with Darren to help him overcome his employment barriers and identify possible job options.
Darren said, ‘[CRS Australia] was great in helping me to work out what kind of jobs I might be able to do and helped me in my search for jobs.’
It was during this search Darren met the team at local Bairnsdale business, Mobility & Hire. Mobility & Hire stocks a range of mobility aids for the aged, disabled and injured in the area. Despite being a small business with little need for extra staff, Mobility & Hire believed that Darren could be an integral part of their team.
Wendy Slade, Manager, Mobility & Hire, said, ‘All people need the chance to achieve. No one person in this world is perfect, we all have some limitations–just some are more obvious than others.’
‘Darren has the ability to undertake certain tasks and it is a pleasure to watch him achieve this.’
Darren’s journey to this point, however, has been challenging and at times frustrating.
CRS Australia liaised with TAC to fund the purchase and installation of a hydraulic workbench. This enabled Darren to perform repairs at a height suited to his restricted range of movement. Mobility & Hire also re-arranged the workshop and storage area to better suit Darren’s needs.
Wendy praises CRS Australia’s professionalism and determination to do the best for Darren and its business. She said, ‘All the staff we have dealt with at CRS Australia have been both helpful and quietly determined to do their best for both their clients and prospective employers.’
‘[CRS Australia] has been of tremendous value and we know advice and help are just a phone call away.’
Darren said, ‘There were a lot of frustrating months and years there. Without people like [CRS Australia] I would have been lost.’