Seven years to find a job
After seven years of searching Karlee Hughson finally has a job.
The 26-year-old works parttime at the Tahunanui Night ‘n Day in Nelson, restocking the fridges, taking the cold drinks out, and putting the shelf drinks in place – something staff would always struggle with when they were busy during the day.
Karen Ratcliffe, Karlee’s mother, said she had applied for several jobs for her daughter, but had always been turned down for one reason or another.
‘‘One of the excuses was health and safety, like if there was a fire or something,’’ Karen recalled.
‘‘And I thought, well, you’re going to get all your staff out anyway, whether she’s got Down Syndrome or not.’’
This time, Karen saw the advertisement for the job on Facebook. Karlee came in for an interview and was hired straight off the bat.
Tahunanui Night ‘ n Day owner Adrian Olsson described his new employee as ‘‘dedicated’’ and ‘‘loyal’’.
‘‘She’s lovely, everyone loves her, everyone chats to her. She always comes in with a nice big smile and livens up the atmosphere in here.’’
At the moment Karlee does six hours a week, over two days, but her hours will likely increase to 10 in the next few weeks.
Karen thinks the reason why it’s taken so long to get Karlee a job is that businesses are ‘‘just unsure about the unknown’’, not being aware of ‘‘what these young adults can achieve and what they’re capable of doing’’.
‘‘Karlee would turn up there really sick if she was allowed to, so that she doesn’t let the team down because that’s just who she is. She’s a hard worker. She loves routine . . . they just love having her. She’s got a nice aura around her.’’
So thrilled is Karlee to have this job, that everyone she meets finds out about it, Karen says.
Her work made her feel ‘‘valued’’, and with a renewed sense of purpose.
Karen would really like to see other businesses taking on staff with disabilities, who just deserved a chance.
Once employees got their head around the job, she said, they were ‘‘probably more reliable than any other person that doesn’t have a disability’’.
For any employer thinking about taking on staff with disabilities, Adrian said to just ‘‘do it’’.
‘‘Don’t be afraid, just give them a shot.’’