Gary and APM Employment Services transcript

Gary: I'm Gary. I'm South Australian born and bred. I have two sons and a daughter, and four grandchildren. I had a career in the caravan industry and I loved it very, very much, and unbeknownst to me, I had quite a bit of an illness. Finally, the doctor pinpointed it, and I had all my Parathyroid glands taken out which regulate how much calcium goes through your body. My calcium levels were through the roof, and it made me very, very sick. I left my job, just because I felt I couldn't cope anymore, I spent three and a half years without a job and just, the last 18 months even, or 16 months, I've been living in a van. I separated with my partner, who I still love very much. We sold our house and went our separate ways, if you like.

Charlene: He was just depressed. He was not himself. He was irritable, so he was having, you know, conflicts with people, and he just wasn't great to be around.

Gary: APM took me in, and I met a lovely lady, Eleanor, and what a difference that made. She saw that I had something to offer and told me about it, you know, and was right up front. “Gary, you do, people are out there that want your skills”. She helped me move towards a new direction in life, and we did another resume. One that was a little bit more suitable for the time I was in. Got me to interviews, and she slowly gave me more and more confidence and put a little bit more workload on me. Once it was to do with caravans. I was just. “That's it”. “This is me all over”, yeah.

Eleanor: Gary works at the Goolwa Caravan Centre. He's on the front desk, and he helps with sales, reception, calls, public facing, getting to help people every day. From day one, he's just been an asset to the business.

Amos: He's always helped, he's always been happy, and interacts with our customers and represents the business really well. He's a face that everyone sees daily, so he's got to be energetic and happy. And that's what he does. He greets people with a smile. He takes care of all their needs and make sure they're happy when they leave.

Gary: To hit the perfect job like that, that just suited my skill set was quite unbelievable really.

Charlene: It's just changed his life. So he needed to work. He needed to get motivated. You need routine, and he's a different person. He's doing really, really well.

Eleanor: APM have been able to help Gary since he's been back at work. He’s managed to get a home around the corner from his work, so he's no longer living in his van. So we thought it'd be a great idea to help him set up his house again. So we've helped him with a washing machine and a bed and a toaster and a kettle. So he's got all the basics, so he's well and functional for work.

Gary: It was just so nice, just to sleep in a real bed again. It was quite incredible. So I'd try to go to sleep. I could feel myself just laying there with a smile. I feel good. Four months ago, I was in my van, stuck in my own little life. Too scared to go out, too scared to meet people. I couldn’t face anyone. I’d walk around with my head on the ground, and, sorry. It’s been hard. To be back in the workforce again and feel normal. It's great.