Jemma just needed a chance - now her life’s been transformed

Jemma Genter had suffered years of rejection because of her learning disability before she was offered a job by the City Health Care Partnership (CHCP). She spoke to Rick Lyon about how being given a chance has transformed her life

On Jemma Genter’s first day at her new job, she was asked to make a sandwich, starting by putting butter on bread.

She picked up the tub of butter in front of her and placed it on top of a slice of bread.

Because Jemma has a learning disability, meaning she interprets things differently from most people.

The request for her to make the sandwich was a learning exercise – not for Jemma, but for her new colleagues at City Health Dental, in Jameson Street, Hull city centre.

Jemma, aged 22 at the time, had just been taken on by the City Health Care Partnership (CHCP) and was accompanied by her Support Worker from Mencap, the charity that supports people with learning disabilities and their families and carers.

Jemma’s interpretation of ‘putting butter on the bread’ was used as an example of how she would have to be treated differently from the other staff.

She had been given a job at the dental practice after suffering years of rejection. Since leaving Kingswood Academy, in Bransholme, her efforts to find employment had come to nothing.

Jemma had been volunteering at the British Heart Foundation for six years but wanted to work in a shop, ideally Primark, to earn her own money. Time after time, though, her applications came to nothing.

All she wanted was a chance.

HAPPY AND CONFIDENT: Jemma Genter at work. Picture by Neil Holmes Photography

It came after she appeared at an event held at Hull Truck Theatre aimed at helping people struggling to find work.

With dozens of businesses and organisations in attendance, Jemma stood up and explained why it was so important for her to earn a living, like her peers.

Judy Lewis, Operations Manager for Dental Services for the CHCP, was among the crowd and was so impressed she offered Jemma a position at the practice as a Dental Support Worker for an initial one day a week.

It meant the team there had to adapt.

In order for her to be able to navigate the practice, the various surgery and room doors had to be repainted specific colours, with Jemma using a colour coded set of lanyards to show here where she had to go.

Other similar measures were put in place and now, four years later, Jemma is thriving.

She works two days a week, has become an indispensable member of the team and her confidence has increased immeasurably.

“I was looking for a job for ages,” says Jemma. “Every email or letter I got telling me I hadn’t got the job made me wonder what I was doing wrong. Everyone turned me down and I didn’t get any feedback.

“But I wasn’t going to give up.

“When I did my speech at Hull Truck Theatre, I was nervous because there were more than 100 people there, but I told them I just wanted to be like everybody else and go to work, then go home after a good day.

COLLEAGUES: Jemma Genter and Jaki Pygott. Picture by Neil Holmes Photography

“Working here has changed my life. I’m much happier and more confident now.

“I just really like seeing everybody, helping people out and getting on with my job.

“The team here are great and they’ve definitely helped me a lot.

“I like everything about being here.”

Jemma’s largely administrative role, which she carries out every Tuesday and Thursday, includes looking out the correct patient records for the dentists, welcoming people to the practice and helping her colleagues however she can.

She has taken part in numerous bespoke training courses, including in safeguarding and life support, which have been delivered in a particular manner that Jemma would be able to digest.

The training has improved her qualifications and employability but, having battled so long to get a job before she was given a chance by the CHCP, she has no intention of going anywhere else now.

“I’d like to carry on here as long as I can,” she says. “I just love it.

“I’m really happy doing what I’m doing and I don’t ever see myself going somewhere else.”

Jaki Pygott, Practice Manager at City Health Dental, said the 15-strong team there have learned as much from Jemma as she has from any of them.

PROUD: Jaki Pygott talking to The Hull Story. Picture by Neil Holmes Photography

“When Jemma first came to us, she was carrying out quite basic tasks,” says Jaki, whose own son also has a learning disability. “But she’s come such a long way.

“She doesn’t need the coloured lanyards she had at the beginning to show her where to go – they’ve been gone a long time now – and she’s so much more familiar and comfortable with her surroundings and the people here.

“She’s able to talk to patients and reassure them. She used to be reluctant to go into a surgery, whereas now she’s quite happy and she’ll talk to the dentists.

“Because I have a son who has learning difficulties, I know the challenges. It is very hard and, as a parent, you worry about how they are going to do.

“But Jemma loves it here and she’s such an asset to us now. She has a heart of gold.

“We never thought the job would grow as it has done with Jemma. When she started, we thought we were giving something back, but she’s really grown as a person and she’s the one giving back to us.”

Having taken a chance on Jemma after seeing her appeal for a job at Hull Truck Theatre, Judy says she could not be prouder of the progress she has made.

“She started on one day a week, doing basic tasks, but she’s absolutely cracked it and she’s a Dental Support Worker in her own right now – and fantastic at it,” she says.

“She came to us with special needs but she’s an important member of our team now. I don’t know what we’d do without her.”