Disability awareness month begins today

The Tallahassee, Fla., Democrat writes about employment efforts in that area, and the National Disability Employment Awareness Month poster to the right is available from the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy.

There are numerous reasons why some of Florida's 3.2 million disabled residents experience difficulty finding a job.

Today marks the beginning of Disability Employment Awareness Month, an opportunity to provide insight into the obstacles people who are disabled face when seeking employment. There will be numerous activities, ceremonies and fundraisers to recognize people with disabilities including Disability History and Awareness Weeks, the 12th Annual Ability Awards on Oct. 8 and Disability Mentoring Day a week later.

"One of the biggest obstacles facing persons with disabilities in the Panhandle area is lack of inter-county transportation," said Bryan Vaughan, executive director of the Governor's Commission on Disabilities, and a person with a disability. "The lack of competitive jobs in general in the Panhandle region further complicates the issue."

With Florida's 6.5 percent unemployment rate, it's highest point since 1995, finding employment may be difficult for anyone — let alone a person with a disability. During Florida's '07-'08 fiscal year, 12,458 Floridians found, or kept, jobs through the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.

The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation is not the only local agency that provides assistance to people with disabilities who are looking for employment. The Able Trust, Ability 1st and Workforce Plus are among agencies that work to connect the disabled community to employers.

"I think we've made headway because there are entities like the Business Leadership Network bringing business leaders together and giving them an opportunity to hire people with disabilities," said Judith Barrett, executive director of Ability 1st. "Those efforts have made a difference. There is a lot more openness to hiring someone with a disability."

Willingness to hire a person with a disability may be there; however, that has not translated into jobs. In 2006 the employment rate for persons with disabilities was 37.7 percent nationally and 39.1 percent in Florida according to an annual disability status report published by Cornell University.

Bruce Weaver helps people within the disability community find jobs as an independent living coordinator for Ability 1st. As someone with a disability who spent four years looking for a job that befits his degree in rehabilitative services, Weaver understands the challenges and frustration.

"If you want to be employed, it may take a while, and you never know," Weaver said. "It took years for me to find this one, and I'm sure there are others who have been looking as long as me."

The primary challenges facing people with disabilities are opportunities for employment, accessibility to transportation and housing concerns.

For Lori Fahey, and parents like her, the problem is knowing where to find employment information for their children. Fahey is the president and chief executive for Tallahassee-based Family Cafe, an organization that provides information to people with disabilities and their families.

"If you know how to find them they could be one of the many resources you can access, the problem is knowing where to go to find them," Fahey said. "There is no phone book, or directory for resources."

Fahey's daughter, Carly, was instrumental in getting the Legislature to pass a bill making the first two weeks in October Disability History and Awareness Weeks. During the two-week event elementary and secondary students will learn about the history of the disability movement and issues that currently face the community.

"The hope is that by educating children as well as adults that some of the misconceptions and stigmas about persons with disabilities will be removed," Vaughn said.