Community-Based Employment

Working in the community gives us all the chance to experience life to its fullest by setting and achieving goals, building independence, learning about the world, building relationships and self-esteem, taking risks and earning a wage.

Connect believes that all people with intellectual disabilities should have an opportunity to work at a business or organization in the community. We will support you as you find a natural employment situation with other people from all types of backgrounds and abilities. Whether we are helping you learn how to use public transportation, train in your new job, or make social connections, we meet you where you want to be — in the community.

We will help you find work that matches your interests and abilities. The type of work you find will depend on many things, including your personal goals and the type of supports you may need.

What Kind of Work Can I Find?

You, and every person we work with, is unique and on their own personal journey to finding work and their place in the community.

When you come to Connect you may not know what type of work you want to do or have the skills to do. We will help you learn about the types of work available and what types of work you can do based on the skills you have now.

You will have choices about what type of work you do. You may want to start by volunteering, or learning new skills through a job-training placement. You may also want to find a paid job. We will help you decide on the best place to start and also how to find the work you want to do in the future.

We have helped people find many types of jobs in lots of different places, including retail stores, warehouses, offices and restaurants.

How Long Will It Take?

We will match you to work that will best suit your current goals and abilities as soon as is possible. How long it takes will depend on many things including:

  • Your skills and abilities.
  • Your flexibility about where and when you can work.
  • Your short-term and long-term goals.
  • The supports you want and need.
  • The work available in the community.

How Will I Find Work?

Each person we help is different, and so is the type of help they need to find work.

When you join Connect you will have one or two staff help you with things like writing a resume, looking for work and preparing for interviews.

Your staff will need to get to know you so they can help you find work that is a good match. You will spend time together doing things like workshops, activities and just spending time getting to know each other. They want to understand your likes and dislikes, strengths and challenges and how you learn — this will help them find work for you.

Employment & Income Assistance (EIA)

Many people that we work with receive help from a government program called Employment & Income Assistance (EIA). EIA provides some people with disabilities a monthly income to live and pay for expenses.

You may have questions about whether working will affect the income and benefits you get from EIA.

We will help you find opportunities to work and participate in the community and will help you understand how to minimize the risk working may have on your EIA.

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