Employment Possibilities: Thriving, Not Just Surviving

This was the theme of the 2010 WV Advocates Conference held in Roanoke, WV on April 23rd. Speaking from personal experience, Kathleen Martinez, Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Labor and head of its Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) knows what it is like for many persons with disabilities to be 'just surviving.'
Born blind, it wasn't until she was eight months old that her parents realized this and then what a challenge it would be to raise their daughter. Though her family lived in a community of migrant workers in southern California, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise when it came to attending school. Mrs. Martinez emphasized what a huge advantage it was for her not to be segregated in a school for the blind, as is still recommended today. Inclusion in community education from kindergarten through high school helped her figure out how to live and learn with the larger seeing community.

"My childhood became the time when I realized that although I felt different, I had much in common with other kids. I loved to run and play, just like everybody else, yet I soon discovered that everybody else also had certain vulnerabilities that made them somewhat different, just like me. One classmate was picked on because she had freckles; another student was ridiculed because he had psoriasis. The commonalities helped shape my self confidence to reach out and communicate freely with people from all walks of life." She credited this inclusion from childhood as being a key to her successful career later in life.

Mrs. Martinez grew up in poverty and eventually 'just survived' on her monthly SSI payments. "We lived very close to strawberry fields and orange groves in southern California and I became increasingly aware of the farm workers who worked in those fields. A student teacher in 8th grade read the book Sweatshops in the Sun by Ronald B. Taylor for me on tape. The book was about child labor on farms, and it profoundly influenced my awareness of working conditions in those fields just a couple blocks from my house."

There came a point in her life when she decided to use the SSA PASS work incentive, which eventually helped her to get off of SSI and 'thrive,' by working and supporting herself. She did offer an interesting cautionary side note. Her benefits adviser at Social Security gave her incorrect information that resulted in her receiving a large over payment that took quite some time to repay. In this way she emphasized the importance of receiving good "Work Incentives Planning and Assistance" (WIPA) when making use of SSA work incentives.

Mrs. Martinez encouraged the audience to seek to turn their adversity into opportunity. She said: "Good jobs for people with disabilities serves as the gateway out of the poverty trap allowing us to contribute to the economy and strengthen our nation."

She was very excited about some of the new programs and initiatives that the Dept. of Labor is currently developing. As head of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), Ms. Martinez advises the Secretary of Labor and works with all DOL agencies to lead a comprehensive and coordinated national policy regarding the employment of people with disabilities. She said that what she liked the most about "my work is knowing that I am part of Secretary Solis’ vision of Good Jobs for Everyone. My approach in supporting this vision is inclusion -- a multi-faceted approach to weave disability into the fabric of employment in America."

How does the Dept. of Labor hope to accomplish this lofty goal? Mrs. Martinez mentioned self-employment and a project with Start-Up USA. While many jobs are being lost in big businesses, new jobs are being created in small businesses, and with self-employment. In fact, she mentioned that ODEP is strongly promoting Customized Employment (CE) as a means to create jobs that previously didn't exist in community businesses which are 'carved out,' or customized, to fit the talents, abilities, and interests of job-seekers. To that end, the Dept. of Labor is working to facilitate the training of employment specialists and job developers in this new approach to job creation.

Fittingly, one of the breakout sessions scheduled at the conference discussed the use of "Resource Ownership" as one interesting facet of Customized Employment (CE). Russell Sickles, Community Economic Development Program manager at Job Squad, explained how a Fairmont, WV business was able to benefit both economically and customer relations wise by hiring a job-seeker who used his SSA PASS 'work incentive' to purchase a hi-tech piece of equipment (asset) that the business needed to improve efficiency and cut costs.

This resulted in a former sub-minimum wage sheltered workshop employee of twenty years, who 'was not thriving, but just surviving,' ending up with a job he loves, making well above minimum wage, and whom his employer boasts is his best employee. And the improved profitability and great publicity the business has enjoyed are further testament to the classification of Customized Employment as best practices.

Resource Ownership - Christian at VALLEY WORLDS OF FUN

Mrs. Martinez also mentioned an initiative geared toward "opening doors to many individuals previously untapped as workers in the green economy. For Americans with disabilities to have an equal chance to share in the full promise of this green economy, a conscious effort must be made to make these industries universally accessible so that all can participate in and reap the benefits of employment and career advancement." Green employment demands the required education to meet these industry needs, and the use of SSA PASS funds to pay for tuition and other expenses can be a valuable tool in realizing this 21st century opportunity.

Are these dreams too unrealistic to even consider for persons with disabilities, who are used to a 70% plus unemployment rate, sub-minimum wage sheltered workshop employment, or custodial low skill careers? Not according to Gary Guller, keynote speaker for the afternoon session of the conference.

Gary realized his impossible dream of climbing Mt. Everest in 2003 with one arm. He achieved this right after leading a team of climbers with disabilities to the 17,000 foot base camp of Mt. Everest, after all the doctors said they could never make the climb.
May 4, 2003
THE ROAD TO EVEREST
Something about the altitude changes your perspective on the journey – every journey
By LEE HANCOCK / The Dallas Morning News
KATMANDU, Nepal – They were perhaps the unlikeliest team ever to set out for the highest place on earth:
Five American men in wheelchairs. A Texas woman with a leg brace and another with lifelong hip problems. A Sri Lankan immigrant from San Antonio with a prosthetic leg. Two Sherpas from a remote Nepali village – one without an arm and another without a leg – who spoke no English.

All led by a 36-year-old Austin climber who lost an arm in a mountaineering accident and hoped the team's efforts would spur him to reach the Everest summit. On April 6, Mr. Guller and his teammates, including seven with disabilities, reached the vast glacial field at 17,600 feet that is Everest's base camp.
They had traveled 17 days through some of the world's harshest terrain, enduring bone-chilling cold and snow and living conditions so primitive that it was difficult to avoid getting sick.

"We set our minds to do something incredible, dang near impossible," Mr. Standridge said. "And we did it."
June 7, 2003
Everest climber home to tell his tale

Austin man fulfilled dream, became 1st with 1 arm to reach summit

By LEE HANCOCK / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – Gary Guller came home from the top of the world Friday, cheered by family, friends and trekking teammates as he told of "living his dream" to become the first person with one arm to climb Mount Everest.
"For a mountaineer, you spend your whole life looking up at the hills, looking up at the mountains. ...You're always looking for something a bit higher and a bit harder," he said. "To finally reach the place on this earth where there is no place higher, what else is there?"
Mr. Guller stood atop Mount Everest on May 23, 47 days after leading a group of people with disabilities on a trek to its base camp.
Their goal was to shake stereotypes about the limits of people with disabilities.

Gary's presentation to the audience at the WV Advocates Conference sure did that.

What about you? Are you 'thriving, or just surviving?' Do you believe that people with disabilities can be productive workers? Are you a person with a disability who wants to further your education and enter the world of work?

As U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor Kathleen Martinez believes, and as ODEP likes to say, you live in "A World In Which People With Disabilities Have Unlimited Employment Opportunities."