Networking Forum

The, Barney Mayse, article tends, to suggest that his understanding, of a State, V. R. Program is designed, to mediate, and serve as a, go between. There is an implied disagreement, or adversary situation existing between a prospective employer and the disabled job seeker.

Barneys message also suggests that he holds some bad feelings, or grudge agains't Rehab. Agency's.

I have good reason, to believe that many employers will not deal directly with the disabled applicant, unless it is known that the person is sponsored, by a State, Rehab. Agency. This is so, for several reasons. The Agency, staff person, can offer, both general information pertaining, to thenature, of the particular disabling condition and offer suggestions, regarding methods and techniques, for performing the job in question. The Agency has a broad array, of services which can benefit, both the individual and the employer, which nost often would not, be available, to the applicant as an independent person.

The disabled person who refuses, or rejects the Agency, sometimes is indicating thatpostive adjustment, to the persons disability is lacking.

In the end the disabled person makes choices and has the final responsiblity, for satisfying the employer that she/he is the right person, for the job.

Additionally the Agency representative has access, to employers and knows about job openings that the person acting independently would never discover.

I personally have been a Client/customer, and the Agency representative, and I know full well that the Agency remains secondary, in terms, of responsibility.

C. Fred Stout

San Antonio, Texas

I am an employed legally blind amputee. I stopped working in 2000 in my chosen field of computer programming due to kidney failure.

In 11/03, I received a kidney transplant and have been refreshing my training since then to return to the workforce.

I previously spemnt 20+ years in Information Technology, 5 of those as a blind computer programmeer.

I spent six months last year wasting my time searching for a local positision in my field. I posted my resume on Monster.com and received calls from agencies every day but after they saw that I walk with a prostetic, I never heard back from them.

My state rehab agency told me up front that they could he;p me with trainng but did not have any experience finding work for someone with my skills, that most blind people they place work at entry level positions (mostly phone rooms). When I asked for a business listing from them, they clould not provide it and suggested that I use the "Yellow Pages".

So, I started a web site a year ago where I teach people how to become a computer programmer and I do not charge a fee. My wife said it was a waste of time and effort but just four months after OI started the site, I was contacted by one of the members asking me if I'd like to do some work for him. I have since picked up four other contract positions and one can possibly turn full-time in my local area. This position pays $70k/year.

The hardest thing for a blind person is lack of transportation (at the very m,inimum, realiable trans[portion). Paratransit does well with doctor appointments but they do not do well with employment situations or even education situations as I missed many classes while I was in school because they did not pick me up at all or were three hours late.

So, I now work out of my home and keep my own schedule. I make sure the work is done on time and done well and I get repeat business.

These clients all know of my disibilities but all but the local company hjave never met me in person and they do not "see" my disibilities. That works to my advantage.

The local company has an engineer who is a double amputee and so they have no problems with my disibilities. But, no state agency or employment agency introduced me.

I simply posted my work and my ideas on my web site and they contacted me.

This could work for other disabled persons as well, no matter what you do for a living.

Bill Dennis
Orlando, FL

Hello. I think there needs to be a major change of heart in those who are employed as VR counselors for the visually-impaired, or at least some of the counselors. Those of us with disabilities in addition to our visual impairments, like myself, need to be seen in a much more positive light. In other words, we need to be recognized for our contributions to society and for the work we can do, rather than be constantly condemned for the abilities which we lack. I feel like a broken record repeating this diatribe over and over again, but the fact is that people like myself, with a visual impairment being my primary but not my only disability, have gifts to offer too. Just because I have a slight problem with motor coordination, for example, does not mean that I should have my ideas constantly shot down by VR personnel. I think there needs to be a way for the two blindness organizations in this country, the ACB and the NFB, to not only work together collectively to achieve equal rights for everybody whom they claim to serve, but also for these organizations to act as one and disseminate necessary information to the state VR agencies. This information needs to be accurate, and it needs to be tailored to each individual blind/visually-impaired person. Exactly what this means or exactly how it should be carried out I'm not 100% sure, but somehow positive change needs to occur. This isn't only true for issues related to the employment-seeking process for those of us with a visual impairment and/or other disabilities, but I think it also applies to every-day issues such as crossing streets. There is no rhyme or reason for a person with a visual impairment to get hurt or killed as a result of faulty or non-existent truncated domes and audible pedestrian signals, for example. This kind of stuff is both common sense and common courtesy. Not every visually-impaired person is the same, and I am sick and tired of hearing otherwise!
Jake

I firmly believe that the networking process must be one encompassing a variety of resources including friends, former professors or mentors, community leaders, church leaders etc. I am also using the NJ CBVI as a resource. I have a 60-credit MA in counseling and have passed the national licensure exam. Almost a year after graduation I still do not have the externship position I need to accrue my hours for my license. I communicate well, have no problems discussing my abilities or challenges. This leads me to believe that we need to use everything at our disposal to break through the (disability barrier) which comes from the lack of knowledge by potential employers.

I have worked with Voc Rehab in finding jobs and without Voc Rehab and I have to say it was easier without. I find in Onatrio Canada, that if there is a employment specialist go between, yes a company etc. will hire you but as soon as the partial funding runs out , and they have to pay your full time and benefits, your job, even if you're doing a good one disappears.

Don't get me wrong Voc Rehab is great for helping one figure out one's aptitdues, especially when someone isn't sure what they want to do in life, but with persons with university or professional education they're a little out of their kin, in Ontario anyway.

The jobs I got on my own were from my own efforts, my own networking . My education and working/volunteering experience played an very important part. I tried as a student to find summer jobs every summer to build up my resume, it didn't matter if my jobs were related to my chosen university education or not, they were skills I'd use along the way, relationship skills, reception skills, and some of my summer jobs were jobs I knew I'd never want to do again but I wouldn't have known that if I hadn't tried.

As someone said transportation is a major barrier but also is attitude. You have to start earlier than everyone and look harder for jobs. Your resume, cover letters and even thank you notes have to make people see the sparkle and enthusiasm you possess. You have to literally' sell' yourself to all interviewers, without sounding pretentious that they really need you on their team and without you they'll be missing something integral. You have to be able to explain what adaptive devices you'll need, how easily they'll fit into their existing systems and don't lie if it won't. In other words do your homework, know your strengths and weaknesses and sell yourself and your abilities. You have to give out a proactive attitude and take any and all opportunities, whether they work out for you or not as learning opportunities to fine tune you.
Don't expect that because you have an 'education' you're going to get a top level job, so have many other millions of people. Show them you're willing to work at anything and then work you're way up where they do realize you're indespensible.

Work with voc rehab, network with friends and colleagues, try every avenue known to man or woman. It's up to you and you have to go for it, no one is going to hand it to you on a silver platter.

I have worked with and without Voc Rehab. It's hard for me to judge which way is better since I had set my sights on going to grad school and becoming an ordained pastor. I accomplished my goal but then found that reasonable accommodations, the nature of being a woman minister and the lack of supportive colleagues made it impossible to continue. I transitioned to hospital chaplaincy work, did a couple of internships and then held a position for almost four years without being involved with Voc Rehab. I didn't know a soul in Grand Rapids when I began my work at a local hospital in 1996 and after I was "let go", supposedly because of down-sizing (I actually left under the Family Medical Leave Act), I felt abandoned and discouraged. I saw, well before I left, that I was no longer welcome, at least by the administration. It was too much of a burden for my supervisor to provide me the tools I needed and the amount of required paperwork was growing. I was yelled at, verbally abused, required to go to Employment counseling, etc. So,...I left, tried to re-group and found that no hospital in this town would even consider me. So I combed the country, getting only one interview and no support from the religious community. I asked for help from Voc Rehab. so I could go for training at a place where I would receive placement assistance in hotel, travel, tourism services. The training center turned me down saying I already have the education needed to procure a position in the field. Voc Rehab. told me I might think about food services! Further, maybe I should try for a job where I don't need my dog! NO WAY on both counts but...I don't know what I want to do! I volunteer, I mentor teens, I keep up my computer skills...I THINK I can name my skills but...how do I put them into a particular job? How do I figure out what positions match the skills I possess? I hear you, Barney but keeping people in my network over the long haul hasn't worked! I'm not a kid anymore but I desperately NEED to work!

Mr. Mayse said that he was convinced that there needs to be some type of dialogue between an agency the disabled person and an employer. I feel that this is true,but in my experience with Voc Rehab this never happens. I was supposed to have met with someone who handled job placement over 3 years ago and I never did. She never called me and I was never able to reach her. I feel that there needs to be a liasion between an agent and an employee.

I found myself fearful and tired of not being honest when I attempted to find a job, When it's time to find a job it would be nice letting an employer know from the door that one has a problem before he finds out later. Currently I need some parttime work because I need money badly. I am aftraid to get off disability for reason mentioned before and the fact that Mississippi is a terrible place economically and know how hard it has been in the past for me to find a job. What opportunites can you good people help me get into.

Kevin, I hear ya man! And, isn't that what the Client Assistance Program is supposed to do, act as a liaison? Both my mom and I tried calling CAP, but we were told that in order to receive any type of assistance from them, one needs an open voc/rehab case. Yet when I went to my state VR agency's website and looked under Client Assistance Program, it said anybody could get services from them. What's more, the website said that one thing CAP does is help clients open or reopen their VR cases. I can give readers the website if they want proof. In fact I'd be more than happy to do that. So I'm not quite sure what to think. Not only have I been told that I cannot receive assistance from CAP, but I've also been told that in order to receive formal O&M instruction, I would need a job and I would need to be working at said job. Something just doesn't sound right to me there. But then again I am no expert on this subject. I suppose if someone worked at a job site which they had been to several times, and that person just needed O&M training around the area of said job site, this argument would apply. But the whole point of O&M training is so that a visually-impaired or blind person knows his/her way around and can navigate everything independently. But like I said I'm not the expert here, nor will I ever claim to be the expert here. It's interesting that this whole thing should come up now, because yesterday my roommate and I were having this same discussion. He is legally blind but is not a member of these forums.

Excellent comments. For the record what I am for is results that facilitate the employment of people with disabilities in competitive employment with a future where dreams can be realized. Anything less than that leaves room for improvement. When VR or any other agency measures up to that standard we all win. When they fall short, we still have work to do.
The comments by Liz, Jo and Kevin are on the mark. Thanks to everyone who has posted or read this. Networking is a process and the broader our networks, the more opportunities we will find and create.
I feel blessed to be part of this and thank Jim and Nancy as well as each of you for your thoughts, comments and ideas.