Opening opened its doors in July 1999 and was originally only a six month pilot project but now has been given funding until January 2007. It is a new project in the Royston area of Glasgow for disabled people who are interested in work.
Brian from Milton started with Opening in mid February. He says, "The work we've done so far has been interesting and has helped boost my confidence". Opening offers disabled people the chance to find out about jobs, employers and possible options for the future.
Opening focuses on the abilities and skills of disabled people and offers the chance to use them by working on a number of practical projects. These include: building links with employers in the community, researching other employment projects for disabled people and planning, designing and setting up the Opening
Website.
Lending his support to Opening, Springburn MSP Paul Martin said "I was very interested to hear Meg, Pauline and Tricia (Opening participants) tell me about the barriers they have come across when preparing for work and how Opening is helping them to tackle them. Disabled people have lots of skills and abilities
to offer employers but many people cannot see beyond the impairment."
Participants of Opening discussed disability an employment issues with the MSP and highlighted many of the barriers to employment they have experienced. This also provided an opportunity for the participants to share their experiences and what they are doing at present in Opening. Meg stated that "Opening has a pleasant, positive atmosphere with a mix of people with different ages, and people can share their experiences and ideas and help each other". Trida said, "I have found out a lot about what jobs, training and education you can do".