At 29 years old, Joana Gameiro found a work place where to stay until “retirement”. And, in fact, the newest collaborator from Hospital da Luz Oeiras couldn’t express better what this new experience means for all that are around her. Joana got through other jobs before being hired to stay at Hospital da Luz Oeiras: she did several professional internships and tried to adapt to different labour realities, but it was here that she ended by finding herself, under the supervision of the responsible for the linen department, Cláudia Silva. Joana is part of a group of young adults supported by CERCICA (Cooperative for the Education and Rehabilitation of Maladjusted Citizens in Cascais) and, today, she feels that she has overcome her limitations. She has a job, she does her work with pleasure and dedication, she became a professional with new competences and, most of all, she helps people in the hospital. “Because that is what I enjoy most to do”, she states, with a smile of satisfaction. After an internship where she learned about the whole work circuit in the linen department, the Hospital officials believed that she was fit to make the leap: she was offered a contract with a working schedule and a salary at the end of the month. For Cláudia Silva, with whom Joana works directly since the start of the internship, this has been “an extraordinary experience”, and “seeing how she absorbed all the knowledge and how she made such a good progress, has been most gratifying”. Luís Filipe Barata, head-nurse in the hospital and responsible for the collaboration established with CERCICA, asserts that this story had to be a success . “From the beginning, we are committed to the professional integration of Joana. At this stage, she is an added value for our organization.” “More so than social responsibility, Joana shows that our concern about the people who work with us pays off and makes them feel valuable elements in our Hospital”, he adds. The project of collaboration between Hospital da Luz Oeiras and CERCICA, that continues to provide psychological support to Joana, includes the Institute of Employment and Professional Education (IEFP) , with which a protocol for the professional integration of people with disabilities was established. In the photo above, Joana Gameiro and Cláudia Silva.
