Employment Service Program for the Disabled People

Xiaoyu is a sheltered worker who applied for a job at the Little Lamb Sheltered Workshop since its opening in 2014. Because of atrophy of the calf muscles and intellectual disabilities, he cannot stand for long periods of time or carry heavy objects like a normal person, nor can he remember more than two job items at a time. In order to relieve the family's burden and financial pressure, Xiaoyu kept looking for job opportunities and worked in car washing, house cleaning, barbecue catering, and paper factory. But he resigned from all of them because of employers and social interpersonal reasons. When his mother learned that Eden Social Welfare Foundation planned to set up a sheltered workshop in Tamsui, she happily tracked the progress of the sheltered workshop and the employment application every day. With the help of Eden and the government, Xiaoyu was able to enter the sheltered workshop successfully.

The Little Lamb Sheltered Workshop mainly focuses on handicrafts, which is very different from the type of work Xiaoyu used to do. At first, he was frustrated, but with the help of the employment servicers, he was able to set up SOP and redesign his duties, and gradually got the hang of it. Now, Xiaoyu has become one of the most stable employees at the Sheltered Workshop. Not only that, he is able to help his colleagues get familiar with the work and become a strong support for everyone.

The employment service program for the physically and mentally disabled not only provides a channel for employment training to help people with physical and mental disabilities enter the general workplace but also accompanies them to find the value of work. A friendly employer, an accommodating workplace environment, and the encouragement of those around you are always the strongest support for people with disabilities in the workplace. This can allow them to build up self-confidence, find their own identity in the workplace, and then share the responsibility of family incomes, further creating social value, giving back to society, and having the power to take care of themselves.