Do you know a business that could do with extra support?
Rehab Enterprises, Ireland’s biggest employer of people with disabilities, have contracts with a range of businesses and have received wide praise for the quality of their work.
Rehab Enterprises in Portlaoise provide supported employment to 13 people with disabilities, including three certified forklift drivers, who work alongside three people without disabilities on a range of enterprises.
Their day-to-day jobs include sub-assembly work as well as ‘pick and pack’ services for a range of medical companies, including Becton and Dickinson Medical Dun Laoghaire, Fleming Medical in Limerick and Voya Beauty Products, Sligo.
Rehab Enterprises in Portlaoise also has contracts with An Post, Powerpoint Engineering Portlaoise, Alpha Wireless in Ballybrittas and Foamalite Plastics in Cavan.
They have also secured a contract with the Department of Social Protection, and this service is carried out in their lo-call centre in Portlaoise.
As a result of these successes Rehab Logistics is keen to bring more companies on board.
Eimear Breen, from An Post, praised the service the company receives from Rehab Logistics Portlaoise.
Eimear said: “Marie Kinsella and her team at Rehab Logistics Portlaoise have provided An Post with a very specialised service for more than ten years now. The service, comprising numerous elements, requires close monitoring with regular updates and considerable flexibility.
“Rehab, along with Marie and her team, are professional and a pleasure to deal with and certainly help to make my job that bit easier.”
Kieran Quinn, from Fleming Medical, has also been impressed by the quality of the service, saying: “All the team at Rehab Enterprises are so accommodating and nothing is ever a problem, the standard of quality of the work is perfect – they are a great resource to have when needed!”
Powerpoint Engineering Limited has partnered with Rehab Enterprises over the past three years.
Conor McGarry, Powerpoint’s Commercial and Business Development Manager, says he is always delighted with the service they receive from Rehab Enterprises.
“Projects are always delivered on time and in a very competent and professional manner. I would recommend Rehab Enterprises for the quality, flexibility and friendly service they provide,” he said.
It isn’t just employers who benefit, Emlyn O’Reilly, from Ballacolla, was unable to work for many years after he suffered extensive third degree burns to his body. This serious accident left him struggling with PTSD and depression.
Three years later Emlyn says his role at Rehab Logistics has been transformative. “I wake up in the morning looking forward to coming to work and meeting people that I can, and do, call friends,” he said.
“My self-esteem has grown and I am doing things and trying things that years ago I would have run away from. I am in a much better place because I was given another chance here at Rehab Enterprises,” he added.
The majority of people with disabilities want to join the workforce but are prevented from doing so by being unable to access the appropriate supports.
Without specific interventions, the percentage of people with a disability in employment is unlikely to increase. At the moment, the unemployment rate for people living with a disability is more than double that of able-bodied people.
Rehab is working hard to counter perceptions that those living with a disability are incapable of offering value.
Employment provides financial independence for people living with disabilities and builds confidence, enabling people to contribute and play a valuable part in their local communities.
It also offers a supportive environment for people who may find returning to the workplace physically or emotionally stressful.
Marie Kinsella, manager of Rehab Enterprises in Portlaoise for more than 20 years says, “I have seen first-hand the difference having a secure job makes to a person living with a disability.”
“It provides the necessary skills and confidence to be active in the workforce and fosters a sense of inclusion, empowerment and independence.”
All Rehab Enterprise employees receive full training in a supportive, person-centred environment and have access to an employee support system. Staff travel to and from work independently. Rehab Enterprises Portlaoise has ISO accreditation and is audited on a yearly basis.
If you’re interested in partnering with Rehab Enterprises in Portlaoise please call Marie Kinsella at 057 86 82414/086 6098246 or e-mail marie.kinsella@rehabenterprises.ie.
SEE ALSO – Rehab Enterprises lead the way in employing people with a disability in Laois
