Employment Inclusion For All

It’s that time again to celebrate October as Disability Employment Month!

I must share how happy I am to be employed. I’ve been gainfully employed at Goodwill Easterseals Miami Valley for 21 years!  When I think about where I started to where I am now, an integral part of the organization, it makes my heart happy.

As I mentioned in previous posts, finding gainful employment wasn’t easy for me due to my disability. Finding and keeping employment can be challenging for others with disabilities as well. One thing I do know, my community is resilient, and they truly know how to make the world take notice of our abilities, especially when it comes to working!

During the past three years, the world really got a chance to see the abilities and the zest persons with disabilities brought to the workforce. According to many organizations and agencies that assist people with disabilities in their employment efforts, employers who never have considered our community as the working population opened their doors when they needed help; and as the saying goes, we showed up and showed out. Sad it took a pandemic to let employers see who they were missing out on, but it did.

Another plus that came out of the pandemic, was the ability to work from home.  This situation turned out to be a plus to help workers with disabilities to achieve gainful employment.  Often, this opportunity can be a deciding factor in whether a person with a disability can work or not.

I’m one who has benefited greatly from working at home. I’ve been doing it for two years. Since I’m a blogger I find it easier to concentrate writing from home. Working from home has also opened my eyes to a wealth of topics to blog about. Also, the accessibility of being able to use my own restroom is a great feature.

Plus, I hate to sound like a broken record, but the fact is, the world is in a caregiver crisis. Although I have a caregiver now, she’s new. If for some reason we don’t work out, I won’t be able to get fully ready for work and this could cause me even more issues. For these reasons, I’m glad I’ve been granted the opportunity to work from home.

I really love working! I love that I’ve achieved gainful employment for all these years. It wasn’t an easy task but because my employer gave me a chance, I’m part of the working class.

As far as my future goes when it pertains to working, I see myself in a leadership role somewhere. There’s a big disconnect in the world today about people with disabilities being able to take on leadership positions; this is simply not true.  I’d like to be one of the ones to change this trajectory.

As I thrive to keep working, I’d like to congratulate other workers with disabilities for jobs well done. I also like to encourage others who’ve not found jobs yet to keep trying. I’d also like to encourage employers to give our community opportunities to do so.