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Ally’s dedication to helping the disadvantaged

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While 2020 brought about mass job losses across the world, Maitland’s Ally Meyn found it “the complete opposite”.

The 24-year-old helped more than 300 disadvantaged, disabled or vulnerable members of the community discover meaningful employment as part of her role with not-for-profit organisation Mai-Wel.

“I thought we would get hit during COVID and not many employers would be hiring, but it was the complete opposite,” she said.

“When the JobKeeper payment was introduced and the JobSeeker payment doubled, employers found a lot of people didn’t want to go to work either because of the health risk or because they were getting the subsidies.

“So, a lot more employers were contacting us for staffing needs.”

Ms Meyn spends her time getting to know job seekers before reaching out to local businesses – an approach which creates connections and enables clients to overcome barriers such as disability or youth disadvantage.

She also takes great pride in leading weekly meetings as president of the local Business Network International Group.

Ms Meyn said she was passionate about improving the lives of those less fortunate and promoting Mai-Wel’s work in the community.

“I’m hoping that a lot more people in the community who are either looking for work themselves or staff for their business recognise us and contact Mai-Wel for support,” she said.

“I think a lot of people know us just as a disability service but we also have a youth program here as well.

“So, it’s just [about] getting that out there and for young people to be comfortable with seeking help to find employment.”

Ms Meyn’s dedication led to her being awarded Maitland’s 2020 Young Citizen of the Year during an Australia Day ceremony.

Maitland mayor Loretta Baker said her work had made a real difference.

“We are so lucky to have people like Ally in Maitland who are selflessly dedicated to helping those less fortunate in our community,” Cr Baker said.

The city’s other major award – 2020 Citizen of the Year – went to former GP, artist and Parkinson’s disease advocate Dr Helen Tolhurst.

After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s in January 2019, Ms Tolhurst helped establish networks and support groups within the community for those with the disease and their families.

She also used her passion for art to raise awareness about Parkinson’s in her most recent exhibition, which donated all proceeds to the Maitland Parkinson’s Support Group.

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