Max
10-05-2003, 11:45 AM
Making ends meet
Poor economy makes job search more difficult for disabled
By BOB MOOK
BobMook@coloradoan.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sherri Barber/The Coloradoan
HARD AT WORK: Connie Shull, who is the Support Youth employment program coordinator for Disabled Resource Services, works at her desk. Shull suffered a spinal-cord injury four years ago, and now uses a wheelchair.
Statistics
Only one in four individuals with disabilities who work and four out of 10 individuals with disabilities who want to work say they need special equipment or technology to perform effectively the kind of job they prefer.
Half (49 percent) of people with disabilities who work full- or part-time use computers at work. Those who work full-time (60 percent) are much more likely to use a computer than those who work part-time (35 percent).
More than a quarter (28 percent) of people with disabilities own special equipment or technology to assist them because of their disability. The number has risen significantly since 1994, when it was 22 percent. Those who describe their disability as very or somewhat severe (33 percent) are more likely to own special equipment than those who characterize their disability as slight or moderate (19 percent).
Fifteen percent of people with disabilities who work full-or part- time, or would like to be working, need a personal computer.
Source: Disability Statistics Center
Resources for the disabled
Brain Injury Association of Colorado Fort Collins Chapter -- Laura Burnett -- 204-6643
Center for Community Participation Colorado State University, 491-2980
Center for NeuroRehabilitation Services, 493-6667
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, 223-9823
Disabled Resource Services, 482-2700
Foothills Gateway, 267-3492
Fort Collins has numerous resources for unemployed people with disabilities. What it lacks is job openings.
Northern Colorado lost an estimated 4,200 jobs over the last two years.
And with the unemployment rate standing at 5.4 percent in August, the most recent figure available, the prospects look even bleaker for the disabled.
Dave McDanal, employment coordinator at Disabled Resource Services, said the national unemployment rate for people with disabilities ranges from 65 percent to 72 percent.
A bad economy tends to tilt the scale to the high end of the range.
"When business was booming, employers didn't discriminate," McDanal said. "Now, it's an employer's market."
One problem is the jobs most comfortable for many people with developmental disabilities -- clerical and assembly positions -- are in particularly short supply right now.
"When the economy was hot, employers were willing to carve positions, but now they can't afford to," said Deb Spotts of the Center for Community Participation, a Colorado State University program that uses occupational therapy to prepare people with disabilities for the workforce.
Connie Shull, youth-employment coordinator at Disabled Resource Services, said many employers don't want to invest the time in training disabled people for jobs when there's an abundance of able-bodied prospects to choose from.
"The job market is bad for everyone in Northern Colorado," she said. "But it's worse for people with disabilities."
Shull speaks from experience. She owned and operated a painting business until a motorcycle accident left her with a spinal-cord injury about four years ago. She now uses a wheelchair.
"It was hard to find a new career path," she said. "I was in the painting business for 15 years."
Having a disability limited Shull's field of opportunity immensely. She worked for a background-checking company for about nine months, but found eight-hour shifts left her physically exhausted at the end of the day.
She landed a job with Disabled Resource Services, connecting employers with youth with disabilities.
"It's extremely rewarding to get placements and see kids flourish and grow and find out what they like and what they don't," Shull said.
Not everyone with disabilities has been as fortunate as Shull.
McDanal said that of the 25 clients he represented from July 2002 to June 2003, 15 found paid employment.
Carolyn Schumacher, 41, is one of McDanal's clients who has not found a job. She's been unemployed since April 2002.
Schumacher, who has an associate's degree in accounting, was diagnosed with epilepsy at 15 and has suffered from paralysis on the right side of her body since she was an infant.
Despite getting an implant to reduce the frequency of epileptic seizures, Schumacher said employers won't hire her because of her condition.
"I think a lot of people back off because they think it's contagious," she said.
When Schumacher was employed, employers either reduced her responsibilities or laid her off once they found out about her epilepsy -- this despite the excellent reviews she said she received for her work.
Schumacher tried to find work as a temp, but agencies couldn't place her because she didn't test well for typing skills.
"I'm getting so frustrated, I keep thinking of downgrading myself to cashiering or fast food," she said.
While disabled workers may take more time to train, Spotts said employers who invest the time and effort to cultivate the disabled workforce get repaid with tax incentives and loyal employees.
"You may spend an extra day training them, but they don't leave," Spotts said.
Jared Habein, managing partner at Chili's Bar & Grill at 3524 S. College Ave., says there are four people with developmental disabilities at the restaurant -- two of whom have worked there for more than nine years.
"It's good for the staff to be exposed to people of different needs," Habein said. "We're all enriched by working with them."
Habein credits the local "support network," including Disabled Resource Services and Center for Community Participation, for making the restaurant's track record with disabled workers so successful.
"They're here for the training and they help make the determination that it's a good fit," he said. "We've only had a couple of people who didn't work out."
If you remove the slow economy from the equation, Fort Collins is a friendly work environment for people with disabilities, said Stephen Sutter, owner of CreateAbility Concepts Inc., a Fort Collins company that develops technology to help people with disabilities in educational and vocational settings.
"We're blessed with an environment that emphasizes social goals," Sutter said. "This is a great community as far as its willingness to help others."
Shull wasn't quite as glowing in her praise of the community.
"There are specific companies that do have that spot in their heart -- but they are a select group," she said.
Originally published Sunday, October 5, 2003
Email this story
Home | News | Entertainment | Communities | Directories
http://www.coloradoan.com/news/stories/20031005/business/394426.html
Poor economy makes job search more difficult for disabled
By BOB MOOK
BobMook@coloradoan.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sherri Barber/The Coloradoan
HARD AT WORK: Connie Shull, who is the Support Youth employment program coordinator for Disabled Resource Services, works at her desk. Shull suffered a spinal-cord injury four years ago, and now uses a wheelchair.
Statistics
Only one in four individuals with disabilities who work and four out of 10 individuals with disabilities who want to work say they need special equipment or technology to perform effectively the kind of job they prefer.
Half (49 percent) of people with disabilities who work full- or part-time use computers at work. Those who work full-time (60 percent) are much more likely to use a computer than those who work part-time (35 percent).
More than a quarter (28 percent) of people with disabilities own special equipment or technology to assist them because of their disability. The number has risen significantly since 1994, when it was 22 percent. Those who describe their disability as very or somewhat severe (33 percent) are more likely to own special equipment than those who characterize their disability as slight or moderate (19 percent).
Fifteen percent of people with disabilities who work full-or part- time, or would like to be working, need a personal computer.
Source: Disability Statistics Center
Resources for the disabled
Brain Injury Association of Colorado Fort Collins Chapter -- Laura Burnett -- 204-6643
Center for Community Participation Colorado State University, 491-2980
Center for NeuroRehabilitation Services, 493-6667
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, 223-9823
Disabled Resource Services, 482-2700
Foothills Gateway, 267-3492
Fort Collins has numerous resources for unemployed people with disabilities. What it lacks is job openings.
Northern Colorado lost an estimated 4,200 jobs over the last two years.
And with the unemployment rate standing at 5.4 percent in August, the most recent figure available, the prospects look even bleaker for the disabled.
Dave McDanal, employment coordinator at Disabled Resource Services, said the national unemployment rate for people with disabilities ranges from 65 percent to 72 percent.
A bad economy tends to tilt the scale to the high end of the range.
"When business was booming, employers didn't discriminate," McDanal said. "Now, it's an employer's market."
One problem is the jobs most comfortable for many people with developmental disabilities -- clerical and assembly positions -- are in particularly short supply right now.
"When the economy was hot, employers were willing to carve positions, but now they can't afford to," said Deb Spotts of the Center for Community Participation, a Colorado State University program that uses occupational therapy to prepare people with disabilities for the workforce.
Connie Shull, youth-employment coordinator at Disabled Resource Services, said many employers don't want to invest the time in training disabled people for jobs when there's an abundance of able-bodied prospects to choose from.
"The job market is bad for everyone in Northern Colorado," she said. "But it's worse for people with disabilities."
Shull speaks from experience. She owned and operated a painting business until a motorcycle accident left her with a spinal-cord injury about four years ago. She now uses a wheelchair.
"It was hard to find a new career path," she said. "I was in the painting business for 15 years."
Having a disability limited Shull's field of opportunity immensely. She worked for a background-checking company for about nine months, but found eight-hour shifts left her physically exhausted at the end of the day.
She landed a job with Disabled Resource Services, connecting employers with youth with disabilities.
"It's extremely rewarding to get placements and see kids flourish and grow and find out what they like and what they don't," Shull said.
Not everyone with disabilities has been as fortunate as Shull.
McDanal said that of the 25 clients he represented from July 2002 to June 2003, 15 found paid employment.
Carolyn Schumacher, 41, is one of McDanal's clients who has not found a job. She's been unemployed since April 2002.
Schumacher, who has an associate's degree in accounting, was diagnosed with epilepsy at 15 and has suffered from paralysis on the right side of her body since she was an infant.
Despite getting an implant to reduce the frequency of epileptic seizures, Schumacher said employers won't hire her because of her condition.
"I think a lot of people back off because they think it's contagious," she said.
When Schumacher was employed, employers either reduced her responsibilities or laid her off once they found out about her epilepsy -- this despite the excellent reviews she said she received for her work.
Schumacher tried to find work as a temp, but agencies couldn't place her because she didn't test well for typing skills.
"I'm getting so frustrated, I keep thinking of downgrading myself to cashiering or fast food," she said.
While disabled workers may take more time to train, Spotts said employers who invest the time and effort to cultivate the disabled workforce get repaid with tax incentives and loyal employees.
"You may spend an extra day training them, but they don't leave," Spotts said.
Jared Habein, managing partner at Chili's Bar & Grill at 3524 S. College Ave., says there are four people with developmental disabilities at the restaurant -- two of whom have worked there for more than nine years.
"It's good for the staff to be exposed to people of different needs," Habein said. "We're all enriched by working with them."
Habein credits the local "support network," including Disabled Resource Services and Center for Community Participation, for making the restaurant's track record with disabled workers so successful.
"They're here for the training and they help make the determination that it's a good fit," he said. "We've only had a couple of people who didn't work out."
If you remove the slow economy from the equation, Fort Collins is a friendly work environment for people with disabilities, said Stephen Sutter, owner of CreateAbility Concepts Inc., a Fort Collins company that develops technology to help people with disabilities in educational and vocational settings.
"We're blessed with an environment that emphasizes social goals," Sutter said. "This is a great community as far as its willingness to help others."
Shull wasn't quite as glowing in her praise of the community.
"There are specific companies that do have that spot in their heart -- but they are a select group," she said.
Originally published Sunday, October 5, 2003
Email this story
Home | News | Entertainment | Communities | Directories
http://www.coloradoan.com/news/stories/20031005/business/394426.html