"Life can be tough, but it's just a bad day, not a bad life."
Full episode transcripts here:
Jasmine Miller: It is a very, very great job, I'm very grateful.
Interviewer: What does a Castle Employment Support Manager do?
Jasmine Miller: It is a very, very great job, I'm very grateful. So, an employment support manager is somebody that is there for the participant to assist them and support them every step of the way, mentoring them, encouraging them, building their confidence back up, and if they need courses, if they need somebody to take them to work, that's what I'm there for.
Interviewer: What was your journey to working at Castle?
Jasmine Miller: So, I'm a qualified Chef by trade, for over 15 years I've worked in very high pace, high end restaurants, and then COVID happened in 2020, and I went to work on Sunday, I cleaned up the kitchen, and I didn't have a job to go to on Monday. And I thought it's time to think outside the box, you're always doing donations, you're always trying to help everybody else out, so I thought, why not apply for a job where I'm actually doing all of those things that I do in my spare time, and that's when I applied at Castle and yeah, it's been an amazing journey.
Interviewer: Have you had challenges to overcome along the way?
Jasmine Miller: Yes, I have had to overcome so much in my life. I had my family taken away from me when I was about 19 years old, and then about seven years ago I got diagnosed with severe autoimmune diseases that have been so debilitating. But, you know, like you can't keep me down.
Interviewer: What if someone is hesitant to seek support?
Jasmine Miller: Come to Castle, we are there more than you would ever think. We have care, if you need us to take you to an appointment, we will do that, if you need somebody to be there on your first day, or take you to an interview 'cause you've got the nerves, if you just need somebody to call, you're not alone, everybody has something going on, whether it's every day, once a week, once a month, we're always gonna be there, there is always somebody that's gonna be there for you. Life can be tough, but it's just a bad day, not a bad life.