Sharissa Charlie and Kim Smith are two RISE Ventures clients in Kowanyama, Far North QLD.
Both ladies had been CDP clients with RISE Ventures for nearly 2-years and in February 2024, they both started on a new life and career path as NDIS Support Workers for uLaunch.
RISE Ventures and uLaunch, an established DES and NDIS provider, have partnered together to provide much-needed services for people living with a disability, injury or illness in remote communities.
This involves hosting community consultation sessions, providing connections to local stakeholders and most importantly, referring our clients for training and employment as support workers.
Kim and Sharissa are two clients who jumped at the opportunity to be trained as Support Workers and help their community.
The Kowanyama team supported them both to prepare the necessary documentation to be employed as a Support Worker and assisted with their resumes, applications and interviews.
Once successfully hired, uLaunch provided all the training they needed. Since then, they’ve hit the ground running!
Just a few of the wonderful services they have been delivering to their new clients are haircuts and shaves, shopping and cooking, and a fishing day out at Topsy Beach.
Sharissa shared that she was finding the work incredibly rewarding, adding it was providing a pathway to develop new professional skills.
“Working with uLaunch gave me the opportunity to learn new skills; it is a rewarding job that we are helping our clients.”
Kim feels a similar way. “I am happy that I am helping and supporting our clients. It is a good feeling that I am able to help the community and our clients”.
The success and enjoyment they are feeling in their roles is a testament to the uLaunch team for creating a supportive environment for local people.
RISE Ventures also provides Kim and Sharissa with post-placement support to ensure they are happy in their roles and able to overcome any barriers that may arise.
Sarah Hansen, NDIS National Manager for uLaunch, shared that their partnership with RISE Ventures is one of the key reasons for their fast integration and acceptance in the community.
Because RISE Ventures have been part of the community for so long, locals trust that uLaunch is also here to help and are committed to a long-term presence in Kowanyama.
RISE Ventures, Nyirrunggulung-RISE and uLaunch are also partnering together to provide much-needed, quality NDIS services to the people of Pormpuraaw, Katherine, Beswick, Barunga, Pine Creek, Manyallaluk and Binjari.
