The Living Link Centre, a non-profit organisation which provides intellectually disabled youth with the tools and skills they need to enter into the mainstream workplace, held its graduation ceremony last week.
Fifteen students who completed the one-year training programme graduated at the Jubilee Community Church, in Observatory, on Wednesday August 24.
The centre, based in Ndabeni, focuses on the integration and upskilling of intellectually disabled young adults between 18 and 35 years. Its adult integration programme is divided into four segments and includes personal empowerment, employment orientation, financial orientation and entrepreneurship.
Centre manager, Gregory Sirmongpong, said students were screened to determine their suitability for the programme in terms of their level of functioning. They have two yearly intakes with the first group commencing in March and the second group in September. The students complete six months life skills training at the centre and six months job sampling (internship).
“Our goal is to challenge the stereotypes and stigma that surround these individuals within their own communities and society at large. People with intellectual disabilities still have a hard time finding employment and with the programme, we have an opportunity to show companies that they can function within a mainstream workspace,” he said.
Occupational therapist and facilitator, Nabeela Brown, said there were various degrees of intellectual disability from mild to severe with some people struggling with reading and writing, others with abstract thinking to struggling in social settings.
“It differs from person to person. You will find some who have no problem reading and writing but will struggle with social skills and cues,” she said.
Mr Brown said in order to fight stigmas around people with intellectual disability, exposure was the most important.
Eric Rule, 21, from Pinelands graduated from the training programme and while he is still trying to figure out his next move, he is grateful for what he had learnt.
“I have learnt a lot over the past year, from learning how to understand people to gaining work experience,” he said.
During his job sampling, Eric worked in reception for three months and later in the recycling department. His passion is cars and he dreams of becoming a car salesman.
Shamila Ownhouse, is a job coach and employment consultant for the centre, who liaises with students and companies during the job sampling process.
“We have a briefing with the managers and staff at the beginning, to take them through the process and help them understand how to work with someone who has an intellectual disability. I also explain to the students what is expected from them and what their duties and working hours are, as well as help them find travelling routes,” she said.
Mr Sirmongpong said while there had been improvements in terms of employment, the stigmas attached to people with intellectual disabilities was a big stumbling block.
“There are companies who want to take on people with intellectual disabilities but don’t know how to go about it, and that is where we come in. But there are also companies who do it on their own, without the necessary sensitisation training,” he said.
Ms Ownhouse said they aim to provide a better quality of life for their students, who had their own dreams and aspirations and did not just want to live off a government grant.
They have two branches, one in Johannesburg and the Ndabeni centre which opened in 2016. It was founded in 2000 by Julia Wilkinson and Ingrid Menzel, the mother and sister of Nadine Wilkinson who has an intellectual disability.
Since its inception, The Living Link has successfully trained over 900 students in life skills and work-readiness skills and approximately 60% of graduated students have been placed in some kind of open labour market employment.
For more about The Living Link, log on to https://thelivinglink.co.za/
