THROUGHOUT the month of May we will be looking at some of the services that our charity of the year Warrington Disability Partnership provides to the town.

First up is the employment team – a service that is helping more than 100 disabled and disadvantaged people to find work every year.

Derek Jones, Jane Pendlebury, Kevin Jackson and John Balshaw are the team who help two people every week to overcome their barriers to find employment.

They help long-term unemployed people with vocational or pre-employment courses, help with CVs and applications and securing training or voluntary work.

The charity’s deputy chief executive Derek said: “If you look at Warrington’s unemployment rate it is much higher for disabled people and although the gap probably isn’t as wide as it is in some parts of the country it’s certainly an issue.

“We don’t concentrate on a person’s health condition – it’s about what they can do whereas perhaps they’ve found themselves in a situation where there’s been a concentration on what they can’t do.

“It’s a different end of the telescope that we look down.

“Three quarters of our workforce are disabled and if we can do it other then other employers can as well.”

Around 85 per cent of people who secure jobs through the team sustain their own employability and do not require any further help.

Senior employment advisor Jane added: “When we meet somebody for the first time they can be emotional because it’s a big thing “We will be understanding and supportive but we’ll challenge them as well.

“We value people for what they can do and also look other things they might want to do and give them the opportunities to grow.

“You walk down the street in town and see all these people we’ve helped and it really does change people’s lives.

“Sometimes I think we forget that because we’re so busy but you take a step back there are a lot of people out there who we’ve made a difference to.”

A case in point is clerical officer John, who was helped by the service and says he ‘wouldn’t be who he is today’ without it.

He said: “I was once a client of the employment team and came in as a volunteer but I wouldn’t be who I am today if I wasn’t employed here.

“I suffer from anxiety and depression and Jane, Kevin and Derek have always challenged me to improve and go up instead of being constantly at the bottom.

“If the organisation wasn’t here I don’t know who I would have been or where I would have been – I probably would have disappeared into the ether, so it’s a very valuable service.”