Emily Riedel (29) held back neither the cheering nor the dancing when she, together with the HELT MED foundation, accepted the award for Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 during NHO’s Annual Conference. – I was so happy that day. The law says we must go to school and be allowed to work after school. People like me need a job so that we can fulfill our dreams – and I have got my dream job, says Riedel, who is a guest with the HELT MED foundation at Lindmo this week. Emily Riedel greatly appreciates getting out into working life. Photo: Julia Marie Naglestad / news The liability reform that swept The back story for the HELT MED foundation takes us back to the early 90s. The HVPU reform required that people with a developmental disability should move out of institutions and be given greater rights and opportunities to be included in society. Head of the foundation, Jarle Eknes, states that 95 per cent of those with developmental disabilities had some form of day care center or job to go to. – It looked really nice at the time, but then it collapsed. 30 years later, only half of the group has a day care center or a job, he tells Lindmo this week. The opportunities to have an ordinary working life disappeared – and Eknes could not look at that. He helped organize conferences where they invited colleagues from Denmark, who had really made it happen. Jarle Eknes from the foundation ALL IN. Photo: Julia Marie Naglestad / news – At the conferences, there were 500 professionals in the hall. Everyone was excited – but no one did anything. We tried again, arranged conferences with the same theme. Nobody did anything. They ended up taking matters into their own hands. They started all over. They had big ideas about what they were going to achieve. And so it was. The foundation has created a model that makes it easier to get employers on board. Emily Riedel was the first to get a job through HELT MED in Rogaland. Photo: Julia Marie Naglestad / news – The first thing we do is create an alliance with a municipality that wants to participate. Then we plan to bring in the employers. And they want to participate because they see that the model is so solid, explains Eknes and adds: – The most important thing is good follow-up from both employer and employee. The first to get a job Riedel is the first to get a job through this scheme in Rogaland. She now works as a hotel employee at the Scandic hotel in Stavanger. Scandic are so satisfied with the scheme that they have employed a total of 24 people through HELT MED. Now they are ready to take on five to ten workers every year from now on. Emily Riedel signs an employment contract with the manager, Ulrika Larsson, at the Scandic hotel in Stavanger. – The first thing I do is prepare the coffee for the guests. Otherwise, I fry waffles, cut up and prepare food in the kitchen. I relate to the guests throughout, she explains. The 29-year-old also helps serve lunch and dinner at various conferences. – I am very fond of people, and what is so good about the job is the freedom to be with people and serve them, says Riedel. Emily Riedel is good at taking care of her guests. Luss cats are served here. Photo: Ulrika Larsson The best thing about the job is that she gets to talk to the guests and give them a good experience during their stay – and she knows how to do that. – First I talk to them, I also offer them coffee. That is the most important thing of all. It is, actually. I give them a little breather. The foundation has managed to create 180 jobs since they started. Now the goal is a hundred new ones every year. – In 2023, we will reach this goal. There will be a hundred new jobs through HELT MED all over the country, promises Eknes. Watch the interview on Lindmo on Friday at 9.35pm and on news TV.
ttn-69
Emily got her dream job thanks to HELT MED – now they have won a big prize – news Kultur og entertainment
