It might not always be about getting into full-time paid employment. Sometimes it’s about following your passion with those who share it. Helen Allen of Community Catalysts and Mark Finch of Do Your Thing, explain.
Community Catalysts support people to explore their passions and think how to put these to good use – for themselves, for others and for their community. We enable people to forge links with others with the same interests or aspirations, to make connections and maximise local assets.
Do Your Thing in Kirklees is a Community Catalysts co-production project funded by Kirklees Council and Greater Huddersfield and North Kirklees Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). The project is helping people with learning disabilities or those on the autistic spectrum to use what they are good at by setting up and running social activity groups.
Local connections
Coordinator of the Do Your Thing project, Mark Finch, first met Jamie last summer, having been introduced by Real Employment in Huddersfield. Jamie, who has learning disabilities, owns an allotment and loves the outdoors. Jamie wanted support to establish his own gardening group – inviting people to his allotment to share his considerable gardening knowledge and skills, whilst also making new friends. The group now has two members and for Jamie this is just right. Members, who both have learning disabilities or autism, really love the involvement and new friendships are being forged. One member has also joined other groups established under the Do Your Thing Project, widening his circle of friends and local connections.
Whilst supporting Jamie to develop his gardening group Mark also helped him connect with the folks at the local pub. Mark also put Jamie in touch with a local community café who needed help with their garden. Jamie is now developing a second gardening group at the café whilst also working there as a volunteer.
On behalf of Jamie and his gardeners Mark put a ‘shout out’ on Nextdoor (an online social network for neighbours and communities) to ask for some gardening tools. This has led to a great connection with a busy local self-employed gardener who would like some support to help him meet demand. Community Catalysts linked the gardener with Real Employment and they now have an ongoing working relationship, creating great employment or self-employment possibilities for Jamie and others in the future.
Real Employment also introduced Mark to Muzamil, who is 24 and has learning disabilities, to see if he could help him explore his passion for cars and gain work experience on the way to his long-term dream of finding a job. Mark chatted with Muzamil and his mother and realised he would like to set up a car cleaning group. From this came the idea of Dirt Busters and putting together a small team to offer car cleaning services to local people.
It’s worth mentioning the vital importance of allowing things to run their natural course. Rushing or imposing an external agenda has the potential to overload people and ironically lead people right back to where they started, feeling frustrated and disappointed.
Muzamil, his Mum and Mark agreed that the first step was to attract fellow Dirt Busters to work together to design and circulate a flyer. They also put a shout out on Nextdoor and within a couple of weeks, local residents had donated overalls and a local cleaning company donated buckets, sponges, cloths and cleaning materials.
All Muzamil needed now was some cars to clean, so they made a few phone calls, found several opportunities and decided to accept the kind offers of nearby Highfields and Mencap. Spring soon arrived and with it Harrison who had vehicle valeting experience and was keen to join Dirt Busters. Muzamil had the beginnings of a team!
And so, with the foundations solidly laid, Dirt Busters tackled their first car-washing session, precisely eight months after Muzamil and Mark first met, but not a day before they were ready. The day was a roaring success and, with the help of several people at Highfields, no less than 10 cars were thoroughly cleaned. The smile that lit up Muzamil’s face, as he finally got to bust some dirt, was that of a very proud young man indeed!
Looking back, there were times when it looked like Dirt Busters wouldn’t materialise, but with careful planning and dogged persistence, everything finally came together. It was moving to see so many people mucking in together, making things happen, and having fun in the process.
Community Catalysts believes that this type of approach has so much value, whether or not it leads to employment or self-employment. Highlighting people’s ability not disability and ensuring they are seen as active citizens leading change, rather than passive recipients of care services, has a huge impact on us all.
Helen Allen is Manager of Enterprise and Community Innovation at Community Catalysts and Mark Finch is Coordinator of the Do Your Thing project.
www.communitycatalysts.co.uk
