Employers Learn To Embrace Disability Hiring – Disability Scoop

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 Shalonda Sanders, 35, works in the mailroom delivering letters, documents and FedEx packages to law office employees at Seyfarth Shaw in Chicago. Sanders, who was hit by a car at age 9 and left with brain trauma that slurs her speech and causes some tremors, was placed in the job through Best Buddies. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/TNS)

Disability Scoop recently posted a great article about employers who have recognized the benefits of bringing individuals with disabilities onto their teams.   It features a woman named Shalonda Sanders, who is thriving as an employee of the mail center in one of the largest law firms in Chicago;  her story is a great testament to the fact that with the proper planning and support, there’s a meaningful and valuable place for everyone.  And the value isn’t just social or cultural; as this article makes clear, there are also serious business benefits to employers reevaluating how they look at capability on the job.   Consider this excerpt about Walgreens, and their success with turning differences into strengths:

“At Walgreens, more than 12 percent of its distribution center employees have a self-disclosed disability, said Steve Pemberton, Walgreens’ chief diversity officer. That exceeds the federal government’s rule for federal contractors, which stipulates that employees with disabilities represent 7 percent of the workforce.

It is not charity, Pemberton said, but a business-driven decision. Many are on the autism spectrum and learn in a mechanized, rote way, which is useful in a distribution environment that is highly mechanized and time-sensitive, he said. Given the efficiency demands of supply chain, there is no room for lower standards.

In addition, “When you have a disability, there’s a certain resilience you have to have to navigate the world, you look at challenges from a different perspective,” he said. “Who wouldn’t want to have a problem-solving skill set on their team?””

Walgreens is proving that such forward-thinking, ability-responsive hiring is a great foundation for success; in the right circumstances, they’ve found that employees with disabilities can meet–or even exceed–the same performance standards set for any other employee.

Read the full story here: Employers Learn To Embrace Disability Hiring – Disability Scoop.

NBC Nightly News spotlight on inclusive employment

NBC Nightly News recently broadcast a story about The Prospector Theater, a movie house in Ridgefield, Connecticut that employs 80 people–most of whom happen to experience some sort of disability.  Here’s a link to the video: http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/this-boss-gives-the-disabled-what-she-says-they-want-most–jobs-404479043807

 

Employment

Pretty amazing, right?  If you’d like to see more, The Prospector’s own site has an incredible collection of employment success story videos, and they’re definitely worth a watch.  Here’s a link: http://www.prospectortheater.org/video-1/

The Prospector offers its employees an opportunity to build skills and gain experience, but it also gives them something many of us may take for granted: the chance to define themselves by their abilities, and to do so within the day-to-day activity of their community.

We’ve seen great examples of businesses like The Prospector in other industries, too–for instance, Portland’s Happy Cup Coffee Company (http://happycup.com/about/), and Eugene’s own Reality Kitchen (http://www.realitykitchen.org).  Have an idea about somewhere else you could see a program like this working in our community?  Let’s talk!  Start a conversation with us in the comments section, or email us at pbc.community.employment@gmail.com.

recommended viewing

Of the many ways art can enrich our lives, perhaps its most universally significant gift is its profound capacity to create empathy between people from diverse circumstances.  And hey, who doesn’t enjoy kicking back with Netflix after a long day at work?  This week, we’d like to suggest checking out some films that’ll offer you the best of both: a nice opportunity to unwind, and a great chance to see the world from another person’s point of view, too.

First up on our list is “Temple Grandin,” a 2010 biographical film about the best-selling author, professor, livestock industry consultant, and autism advocate.  It’s reviewed here by Lorie Polk.

This biopic is an engaging and inspirational view of the challenging life of a woman with autism in the 1950 & 60s, Temple Grandin, portrayed by Claire Danes.

Back then, one of the prescriptions for autism lead the patient to being institutionalized.  In fact, that was even suggested to Temple’s mother, Eustacia Cutler.  Fortunately, Temple’s mother believed strongly in the possibility of her daughter leading a normal life…with natural supports as needed.

The film encourages people with challenges to overcome them and create the life they want. It also lovingly gives us an insight into Temple’s world–how she perceives her surroundings, and a little of how her mind works. Finally, the film celebrates all the people that supported her in achieving the successes she accomplished. Temple Grandin’s courage, intelligence and perseverance in the face of great odds reminds us all what we can do when we believe in ourselves.

For more perspectives on the experience of autism, the website Autism Speaks recommends the following five films, all currently streaming on Netflix:

Sounding the Alarm
Fly Away
Dad’s in Heaven with Nixon
A Mother’s Courage: Talking Back to Autism
The Story of Luke 
 

You can find trailers and brief synopses of each on the Autism Speaks site: https://www.autismspeaks.org/news/news-item/5-autism-films-netflix

Lorie also recommends Door to Door, the true story of Bill Porter, a man with cerebral palsy determined to become a salesman.  It stars William H. Macy, and won numerous awards, including six Emmys and a Peabody.  Here’s a trailer:

Have a film recommendation to trade us?  Let’s hear it!  Share what you’ve got in the comments below.

Job developer profile: Lorie Polk


“If there is anything that [people] can do well, I say let them do it. Give them a chance.” -Abraham Lincoln

This week’s post is authored by contributor Clayton Cone.

A big part of Lorie Polk’s work as a job developer is helping to train a job seeker once he or she is hired, and she loves it.  “Going into different workplaces and learning how they are run fascinates me,” Lorie says. Lorie trains with new employees for up to 90 days, gradually fading her training as the employee increases in independence and job skills. Lorie says she feels like she gains a whole new set of skills each time she coaches a new employee in a new work place. As Lorie’s skill set increases, she becomes more valuable to her new trainees, too.

But Lorie’s experiential base comes from more than her experiences as a job coach. Prior to her work with the Pearl Buck Center, Lorie also worked a multitude of different jobs, including positions as dental assistant, purchasing manager and visual merchandizer. She says that with the diverse jobs she has had, “assisting others to find work is kind of a natural choice.”

Employers with whom Lorie has placed job seekers include Purakal, a cylinder company, for the position of tool crib operator, detailed in the blog post dated May 12th, 2014; Gaviotas Painting, for the position of paint shop attendant; and the Sports Car Shop,  for the position of online sales/system developer.

Over the 4 years Lorie has been a job developer, she has been most proud when she has been able to match a job seeker with a job that has special appeal to him or her, an experience that has happened more than once or twice. When this has happened, she has seen her clients thrive on the job.  She says she’s also felt proud when leaders in the community “realize the importance of a diverse workplace and how hiring Pearl Buck Center job seekers can be an enhancement to their organization.” A great example, she says, is John Anderson, owner of Togo’s, a local sandwich shop, who says that hiring Pearl Buck Center job seekers is “good for business.” A Pearl Buck Center client now thrives at the shop as a customer greeter and lobby attendant, and Anderson has plans to hire another Pearl Buck Center client for his second store, Lorie says.  This particular client distinguished himself as having a genuine appeal for welcoming newcomers to the store, she says [for more detail, see our post on February 12th].

Lorie, who has 4 years of college education, enjoys cooking, reading, scrap booking, rubber stamping/card making and paper crafts. In addition, she enjoys hanging with her husband and daughter.

Inclusive employ-ment: a sound invest-ment

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The website Disability Scoop posted a great article this week about the business case for employing people with disabilities.  It profiles the successful partnership between a Chicago-area bakery, Sugar & Spice Extraordinary Sweet Treats, and Have Dreams, a non-profit that serves individuals with autism.  Together, they developed a grant-funded bakery training program–designed to provide several of Have Dreams’ clients with opportunities to learn and build experience, while simultaneously meeting crucial business expansion needs for Sugar & Spice.  As a condition of the grant, Northwestern University conducted a productivity study on the program, and concluded that the participants–three young men with autism–made significant enough contribution that it made good business sense to incorporate them into the operation; Sugar & Spice’s manager Jean Kroll agreed, and hired all three.  Concerning her decision, Kroll tells Disability Scoop, “People always say, ‘That’s such a nice thing to do […] I say, ‘Yes it is nice. But it’s also a smart thing to do.’”

According to Kroll, her employees seem to be thriving–and the partnership between Have Dreams and Sugar & Spice will continue as well, with a new round of interns already set to start their training program.  The success shared by all involved is a strong testament to the notion that creative, ability-focused employment for individuals with disabilities can produce significant value for a business, both socially and financially.  Get the full story here: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/01/16/disability-employment-gamble/19968/

Employment Success Story: Togo’s Sandwiches

Our friends at KEZI recently aired a story profiling some of Pearl Buck’s successful partnerships with local businesses.  If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s definitely worth a watch.

Here’s a link to the full story, on the KEZI site: http://www.kezi.com/pearl-buck-and-the-community/

Togo’s Sandwiches is one of the businesses featured in that video, and lobby attendants Paul Koerner and Sheri Clack are a major part of what’s made our partnership with them such a success.  Both add real value to Togo’s business by offering stellar customer service, improving operational efficiency, and contributing to positive overall workplace morale.  Togo’s manager Lionel Jeffery sat down with us a few months ago for a brief interview about his experience working with Paul and Pearl Buck:

Lionel collaborated with Pearl Buck’s community employment program to match Togo’s needs with Paul and Sheri’s strengths.  We believe in this custom-fit employment model because we’ve seen it work time and again, in a diverse variety of industries.  If you’re interested in learning more, please get in touch; our community employment team would be happy to tell you more about what we do, and how you can get involved.  We’ll be introducing the team over the next several monthly posts, so stay tuned!

Meet Wyatt! Video Resume

Wyatt photo

Wyatt is seeking employment in the Gaming, Food Service, General Labor or Production industries, where he can continue to gain knowledge and become a more versatile employee as well as gain the income needed to become an independent individual.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmcwV6W3ZYM&w=490&h=370]

Meet Michael May Video Resume

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-bLdgALE0w&feature=youtu.be Meet Michael May.  As an employment candidate, he’s defined by his dependability, positive attitude, and stellar work ethic.  He’s a recent graduate of 4J’s Connections program, where he participated in a three year program to gain work experience at various community worksites; his performance there earned him a glowing letter of recommendation.  Over the past year, Michael and I have worked together to continue building the skills he needs to be successful on the job.  Throughout, he has demonstrated constant determination to meet his ultimate goal: part-time work, in a situation where his physical strength, talent for organization, and mechanical aptitude will prove valuable.

Please take a moment to watch this brief video resume highlighting what Michael has to offer.  If you’re interested in learning more about Michael, I’d like to recommend meeting with us for a brief exploratory conversation; to schedule such a visit, you can contact me via email, at ‘joshua.gramley@pearlbuckcenter.com‘, or by phone, at (541) 543-1497.  Also, please share this post with anyone else you think might like to see it!  Your help in spreading the word may prove instrumental in creating our next success story.

Update: Michael has been working for McKenzie SewOn since October 2014, in a position custom-fit to his strengths and skills.  His attention to detail and solid work ethic have earned him great praise from his supervisors and co-workers alike; he’s become a valued member of the team, and is now well on his way with writing his own story of success!

On the Job with Community Employment

Keenan Toole

This week’s post is authored by contributor Clayton Cone.

For Keenan Toole, tool crib operator was a job he couldn’t pass up: it had good pay, good benefits and, as he would come to appreciate, good hours, at 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. He took the job, his first, and has worked at it since the fall of 2012.

Toole’s employment consultant, Lorie Polk, knew he liked working with tools, so when an advertisement for a shop position was posted on Craigslist, Polk asked Purakal, a Eugene-area manufacturer, for an interview. Purakal designs, constructs and repairs cylinders, some so big they operate the draw on a drawbridge. A tool crib operator tracks tools, sharpens drill bits and uses complex measuring devices, such as calipers.

Michael Bentley, Production Manager at Purakal, said that Polk was “instrumental” in the hiring process. She worked side-by-side with Toole 8 hours a day, 5 days a week and over the course of 4 weeks, a trial work-period that the Pearl Buck Center used for training. During that time, Bentley liked Toole’s work, so Purakal offered him the job.

Polk said Purakal employees taught her about the machines, tools and devices, and then she instructed Toole. After taking lots of notes, she made step-by-step written instructions based on what she was taught and what further instruction she was able to find online. She made 11 lists altogether, including a shop schedule. Lists covered how to sharpen a drill bit, how to dress a grinding stone and how to read calipers, among others.

Bentley said Polk also modeled a level of patience in working with Toole that Bentley and others at Purakal emulated.

Polk’s supervisor, Assistant Director of Adult Services Holly Powell said, “(Polk) is good at coming in and observing what can be done to make a person successful by adding a list or changing a routine.” She also said Polk is effective in both helping people get jobs and helping people keep them. Moreover, Polk, who has worked as an employment consultant with the Pearl Buck Center since 2008, can enlighten an employer as to how accommodations could enable a person with a disability to be hired on, Powell said.

Powell said Polk’s lists for Purakal were “simple and brilliant,” and they were necessary, as there was no manual to refer to.

Polk checked in with Bentley at the 6-month mark to see if any more training was needed and again at 1 year, but none was, Bentley said. Toole was working independently.

By April of 2014, Toole has had two pay raises—to $10.50 an hour, he said. Although he sharpened bits for nearly 1-1/2 years, he now disassembles cylinders, which sometimes weigh more than a car; and he cleans bathrooms, sweeps the warehouse floor and occasionally does yard work, for variety. Toole said he likes heavy-duty air tools, and he gets to use a torque gun in taking the cylinders apart. He likes his work.

Toole is finding his niche.

“He has been earning his keep, that’s for sure—and he’s pretty well liked,” said Bentley. “He’s a very productive guy.”

Toole has a future with Purakal.

“Our company has been very busy,” Bentley said. “We had a busy 2013, and we’re sure to have a busy 2014; and he is going to be a part of it.”

Purakal has been pleased with the Pearl Buck Center’s efforts.

“The whole thing went wonderfully,” Bentley said. “(The Pearl Buck Center) was able to come in and do the training, and we got a great guy out of it.”