Recently, we caught up with LiveBetter customer Lara at the Bathurst Winter Festival All Abilities Day. Lara has been participating in the SLES (School Leaver Employment Support) program for the last three years, which assists her with training and skills development, confidence building, work experience and community engagement.
Since accessing the program with LiveBetter, Lara has gained work placements with Woolworths and Coles and secured paid employment with Bathurst Regional Council at the Winter Festival. Lara’s duties at the Winter Festival included selling tickets, handing out skates and helping people to get on and off the ice rink.
“My long-term goal is to work full time. Being able to work at the Winter Festival gives me independence and gets me out in the community,” said Lara.
According to Disability Services Coordinator, Clare Plunkett, Lara’s self-esteem and communication skills have significantly improved. “It’s great to see Lara accessing the community independently. She will now go to the shops by herself, pay for things and ensure she receives the correct change,” said Clare.
We also caught up with Lara’s parents, Hugh and Joanne who said the SLES program has helped Lara to be more confident and develop her work-ready skills.
“Our hope for Lara is that she can be as independent as possible, find paid employment and just live life like everyone else,” said Hugh.
