Finding passion and purpose through employment

A letter from a Mother: As the mother of a 21 year old daughter with Down syndrome, I’ve seen first-hand the struggles she goes through to complete normal everyday tasks compared to those without intellectual disability.

For my beautiful girl Laura, it would be easy for her to give up, to slowly disappear from the world, hide in her room and view the world from behind a computer. But she is a fighter, determined to become a role model for others so their journey to be included in society won’t be as difficult.

​​With the help of the Edge team, Laura has been lucky enough to gain open employment with Pan Pacific Perth. Working with a supportive team has allowed her to really come out of her shell.She’s been able to build her confidence by interacting with people, giving her a sense of belonging and purpose. She feels like a valued member of the team.

After all of Laura’s hard work, you can imagine my reaction when I recently received this feedback from her proud Edge Job Coach, Pauline. “I wanted to let you know the fantastic improvement in Laura here at Monty’s.

Her Customer Service Skills are 100% and even though I sit at the Back of the restaurant I can always hear Laura saying “Have a Nice Day’ as clients leave. Today I can hear her laughing with the clients and smiling too.”

Although it’s not always been easy, it’s been great to have the support of organisations like Edge that have assisted me in enabling Laura to develop her skills, become independent and gain open employment.