Sunday, January 13, 2013

Mary awarded for supported employment

Mary O'Halloran receiving her IASE Award from Cllr Dermot Lacey.
A Kilcullen woman was recently presented with a national award for best practice in Supported Employment, writes Brian Byrne.

Mary O'Halloran is manager of STEP Supported Employment in Dublin, a service of the St John of God organisation, and she was presented with the award by Cllr Dermot Lacey in Dublin's Mansion House at the annual awards ceremony of the Irish Association of Supported Employment (IASE).

The Association annually showcases work that is being undertaken by member organisations, service personnel, and company mentors supporting people with disability in the workplace. The Best Practice Award highlights achievements and success of people with disabilities through the supported employment model as well as challenges and barriers to employment that have been overcome. Mary is also the Chairperson for the East Region of the IASE.

She also received two innovation awards this year from St John of God, one relating to the STEP Care & Repair programme which she set up, and which was launched by An Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore TD.

This arose from a pilot programme Mary set up last year in association with Age Action Ireland and the Southside Partnership in Dublin.

The programme takes unemployed tradespeople off the Live Register through the Tus Partnership and with an extra €20 a week on top of their normal unemployment benefit, they work and respond to Age Action members in the South Dublin area. They added a component that included training and skills development for people with disabilities.

Mary is daughter of Patsy and the late Vinnie O'Halloran.

This article was first published on the Kilcullen Page of the Kildare Nationalist.