Looking for disabled charities/organisations to support & fund work equipment for unemployed?

sam222

Hello,

My name is Sam and I am profoundly deaf. I am seeking for a new job as an office furniture/product designer and I already got 7 years experience under my belt, but I'm currently unemployed for a year now and I am worried about my CAD skills starting to disappear without a job for a while.

So I am looking for deaf or disabled charities/organisations that will able to support/fund work equipment such as high-end laptop for me to maintain my CAD skills while I am looking for a job and boost my opportunity to do freelance projects, also it still will be beneficial to use when I am employed as well but CAD requires high-end laptop and them are expensive.

Does anyone know any name of disabled charities/organisations?

Many thanks,

Sam  

Chloe_Scope

Hi @sam222 and a very warm welcome to the community! 

Support to Work is an online and telephone support programme for disabled people who are looking for work, this might be useful to you.

Also, here is a grant checker which might show where you can get funding for equipment.

Please do let us know how you get on.

April2018mom

There are numerous ways to find work. This article lists ways to get a job https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/help-to-find-work-if-youre-disabled/amp
Hopefully you will be able to find something soon! What are your skills? Why not contact your local council? They might be able to help. 

Frankie91

Hi @sam222,
  Charities and organisations will usually only fund or partially fund equipment if it is disability specific e.g. eye gaze for individuals with decreased upper limb mobility. If your disability impacts on your ability to do your job and there are certain pieces of equipment that would allow you to return to work then you are more likely to be able to access some support. If you were doing freelance work then you may be able to go through access to work as your home would count as your work space (however you do need to be doing paid work to use this so you would need a freelance project lined up). 
I can't see any charities that are likely to be able to provide individual equipment funding.
It could be worth looking at Scope's employment services section https://www.scope.org.uk/employment-services/ and researching vocational rehabilitation services in your local area around support with returning to employment. 
Best of luck with everything.

Chloe_Scope

Hi @sam222, how are you getting on?