Articles

I first met Mark in November last year when we were sitting in the waiting room of a medical centre. Mark suffered a workplace injury in early 2009

when he was the victim an armed hold up. As a result Mark suffered severe post traumatic stress, was unable to continue his employment, became homeless and had enormous difficulties interacting socially with people. Unfortunately Mark didn’t get the support and treatment he needed and it became clear that he would not be able to commence a return to work; at his pre injury capacity.

Actevate was engaged 2 years after not receiving adequate help or support. When I first met with Mark he was insecure, shy, and introverted but he was very thankful for the sudden interest in his well being and future employment prospects. Actevate identified that we had to secure reliable and legal
accommodation for him before we could consider any possible vocational
options. Within the first few meetings Actevate gained Mark’s trust and
we were able to; build great rapport; find a suitable home; identify his passion
for working in the construction industry as a Scaffolder and identify a course
with Scaffolding Training Australia.

Mark successfully completed his training in mid January and not long after was offered a job as a Scaffolder. Sadly Mark didn’t have the money to purchase the required scaffolding tools but he was determined to attend his first day of work and was consequently ridiculed by some of the other "scaffies". Nevertheless, Mark persisted with his new role and was assigned tasks which did not require him to use any specialised tools. Mark was upset that he might not be able to continue working in this role for much longer without the required tools.

Luckily, the owner of Scaffolding Training Australia was willing to lend a helping hand, and gave Mark some used tools at no charge. Actevate also helped out by purchasing some additional tools so Mark that he could continue working and keep his spirits up.

Consequently in early February, Mark received his first paycheck in over 2 years. He is now planning to gain enough expense so that he can work in the mining industry. Mark is also in the process of saving for a deposit to buy a house.

Mark is still not fully recovered, but he is a great example of someone becoming a victor, rather than a victim, and turning his life around in a matter of 8 weeks.

*Names have been changed to maintain privacy

Richard Thorpe, Actevate Rehabilitation Consultant