Do you have a disability and would like to work, learn a new skill, volunteer or participate more fully in your community?
If you answered yes, the Employment and Support Services Program (ESSP) may be a fit for you. It offers services to help people living with a disability to find employment, develop skills and make connections in the community that best suit their needs, interests and talents. This program supports people living with a disability to identify and achieve goals.
The Employment and Support Services Program doesn’t simply focus on getting work. Even if you feel you’re not ready for a job, you won’t be turned away when you have an interest in working on developing skills or getting involved in your community.
The Department of Social Development funds about 38 non-profit agencies that are contracted to deliver the program. Many programs offer services within the agencies or in community. Click here for a directory of the agencies.
These agencies deliver training and supports to help people with disabilities:
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gain life skills and abilities that promote independence, and
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participate in volunteer, social and recreation opportunities both at the agencies and in community,
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find and keep work that matches their skills and interests,
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work for real wages in inclusive workplaces,
More resources
Click here for information from the New Brunswick Association for Supported Services and Employment.
To qualify for the Employment and Support Services Program, you must be:
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a resident of New Brunswick,
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of working age (19-64 years old),
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approved for assistance from the New Brunswick Disability Support Program, and
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someone whose goals can be supported through an Employment and Support Services Program agency.
To participate in the Employment and Support Services Program you must be receiving services from the Disability Support Program. You can apply for the Disability Support Program to request Employment and Support Services or you can make a referral for someone else. If you are making a referral for someone else, you must get the person’s agreement to do so before contacting the Department of Social Development. Once a social worker contacts the person who was referred, the person must participate in the application and planning process for it to move forward.
If you aren’t already a client of the Department of Social Development, you can call its screening line at 1-833-733-7835 to request more information. To access the program, you must first apply to the Disability Support Program (DSP.) After your first conversation with a screener over the phone, a social worker will call you to go through the application to the Disability Support Program. Click here to learn more.
Once you are a client of the department, your social worker works with you to determine whether the Employment and Support Services Program is a fit for you. If it is, your social worker will connect you with an agency in your region to schedule a meeting. During that meeting, a staff member from the agency will ask questions about your needs and goals and will explain what services the agency offers.
Depending on when there is an opening, you may begin working with the agency within a week. Within ten days of starting, the agency will set up another meeting to begin developing an Individualized Employment Support Plan with you. This plan is based on your needs. It includes information about your strengths, work and life history, what you want your future to look like, goals, and the agency services that will be offered to you. This will help plan what you will do at the agency and whether you want to start a job, training to get ready for a job, volunteering or other supportive services. The plan will be reviewed as needed over time.
If your volunteer or employment situation changes after you start, you must let your social worker and the agency know.
To access the Employment and Support Services Program, you must be a client of the Department of Social Development and meet the eligibility requirements for the Disability Support Program. Click here to learn more.