THE September edition of the Hour of Power featured Ellenbrook disability support providers Empowering Abilities Together sharing their journey from military service to community service.

Empowering Abilities Together was founded by husband-and-wife duo Stacy and Helen Gray, growing from a local support coordination provider into a hands-on employment mentoring business focused on helping NDIS participants and young people develop real-world work skills.

Mrs Grey, who is the director, said she was a former teacher with a background in special education who began the business to help fill gaps in post-school transition services for young people with disabilities.

Mr Grey came from a very different background, having been a Australian and New Zealand Army serviceman for 29 years.

“When I left the army, I tried a lot of things,” Mr Grey said.

“But what gave me purpose was working in my community, helping young people, helping our own kids, and helping others through employment mentoring.”

Though the body of their work was NDIS support coordination, over time, their service expanded to helping people with disabilities prepare for and retain employment.

In the past year, Empowering Abilities Together launched a new branch focused on job mentoring.

Mrs Grey said the club struggled to find volunteers to run its canteen, so Empowering Abilities Together helped coordinate staffing and offer paid employment and training for NDIS participants.

“We realised we needed to build up work readiness,” she said.

“We ran a six-week training workshop before anyone started.

“It included basics such as being on time, hygiene, having a packed lunch, and just building confidence.”

Mr Grey also noted the the importance of structure and preparation for participants with anxiety or autism.

“You can’t just say ‘go serve from this window’ without warning because it can cause a meltdown,” he said.

“We had to work closely with them to understand the impact of change and create consistency.”

Mr Grey also shared the story of one participant who had a dream to join the army but was told early on it wouldn’t be possible due to his disability.

“When I heard that, I said, ‘challenge accepted’,” he said

“We helped him through the process, supported his fitness, and last week he graduated from recruit training at Kapooka.”

The Swan Chamber of Commerce room erupted in applause.

The duo said the key was community collaboration.

“We don’t want to become a huge provider,” Mrs Grey said.

“We want to partner with other organisations, share what we know, and learn from others.”

Mr Grey said although money helped, it wasn’t the key to a client’s success.

“It doesn’t always have to be about money,” he said.

“Sometimes just having a conversation with one of our clients can help them find what they’re good at.”