The process by which burn survivors undergo medical treatment and rehabilitation to finally return in society can be long and arduous. Not only must they learn again all the little gestures that make up daily life, but they must also learn how to accept themselves, interact with others, and finally bravely accept the challenges that society will bring. In that sense, employment is a crucial step towards returning to a normal life. That is why since 1992, vocational services and social enterprises have been an important component of the services Sunshine Foundation provides burn survivors and people with facial disfigurement.

Vocational services
The purposes of vocational services are:
•To allow people with disabilities to have a stable job;
•To strengthen the sense of self-value of people with disabilities;
•To increase opportunities for social interaction and broaden the scope of their
　daily life;
•To build the capacities of people with disabilities.

Sunshine Foundation’s job counselors provide professional and individualized vocational services which include vocational evaluation, job skills and occupational interest evaluation, employment information, job matching services, vocational counseling, job placement, etc.

•Vocational evaluation: Through evaluation tools, help clients gain the
　necessary competences for their work;
•Job matching services: Based on the physical condition and interest of clients,
　identify appropriate job opportunities;
•Job adjustment counseling: Thanks to counseling in the work place, help
　clients learn job skills, improve interpersonal relations, etc.

Sunshine Foundation offers three types of vocational services:

1. Regular employment services: Sunshine Foundation is well known in Taiwan and employers will inform us of job openings. Job counselors can then match clients to job opportunities. Apart from preparing the client for the job interview and doing necessary follow-up, the role of job counselors in that instance is mostly to support and encourage the client. This approach is particularly appropriate in the case of clients who have good physical and emotional adaptation capabilities, or those who have pressing economic needs, as it allows the client to quickly enter the job market.
2. Supported employment services: In the process of job matching, some clients whose physical or emotional condition demand assistance will be accompanied by job counselors. This means going along on interviews, discussing emotional adjustment issues in the workplace, etc.
3. Sheltered employment services: Sheltered employment provides a safe environment and short work hours, offering clients short-term work opportunities and acting as a springboard towards regular employment.

Sunshine Foundation understood early on the employment difficulties faced by burn survivors and people with facial disfigurement. That is why it set out in 1992 to establish its first social enterprise – the Sunshine Carwash Center – which operates like a regular business but at the same time provides employment opportunities for burn survivors and people with various forms of disabilities.

The premise of Sunshine Foundation for establishing social enterprises is directly related to the services provided by the Foundation, which progressively evolved from the basic rehabilitation and psychological needs of burn survivors to their more complex need for reintegrating mainstream society through education and work opportunities. By creating a sheltered-type business imitating real competitive work environments, Sunshine Foundation not only provides a stepping-stone for clients to reintegrate the regular job market by teaching working skills, but it also allows them to interact with the public and eliminate social prejudices against people with disabilities.

Through Sunshine’s social enterprise, the public can see people with disabilities who are fulfilling their potential through work.