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Group seeks to help professionals with disabilities find opportunities
via Democrat and Chronicle, June 7th 2011
Luticha Doucette needed a car. Salt from the snow corrodes her wheelchair, causing it to break down, and Lift Line doesn’t run on weekends or holidays. What was she supposed to do when classes at Rochester Institute of Technology begin on Labor Day?
After nearly 26 years as an incomplete quadriplegic, Doucette saw owning a car as a vital measure of independence. But when she asked her worker at the Monroe County Department of Health for assistance, she was told to “be realistic.”
The department would pay $20,000 a year for an indefinite chauffeur, but it wouldn’t make a one-time payment of $6,000 for a car.
Realistic? Try ridiculous, thought Doucette, a self-described nerd who has a tongue ring, as well as an affinity for sparkly pink Converse sneakers.
Ever since being ejected from the vehicle during an accident at 22 months old, the spunky Doucette has found herself fighting the education system, government agencies and even the medical community for the same rights that people without disabilities enjoy.
Those frustrating experiences led her to partner with Chris Hilderbrant, chief operating officer of the Center for Disability Rights, in April to create a networking group. Rochester Young Professionals with Disabilities will be a central resource for people ages 21 to 35 to mentor one another, find social and professional opportunities and connect with young adults without disabilities.
“That’s how you get the walls of misperceptions broken down; you can’t just network with each other,” said Doucette, 27.
Hilderbrant and Doucette sought advice from RocCity Coalition, the parent organization of about 40 local young professionals groups, and were received with resounding support.
“I think this was a constituency that wasn’t really being served by any other groups,” said Maria Thomas Fisher, chairwoman of the coalition. “Sometimes you need people to bring that to your attention.”
The group is in its infancy and has only a Facebook page and a handful of members. As people join, Hilderbrant is hopeful they will set their own agenda and define the group’s activities.
Working disabled
In 2009, 9.1 percent of the working-age population in the state reported having one or more disabilities. This includes physical, mental, emotional or learning disabilities. Only one-third of these people have jobs. The challenges they face are highly individualized and depend on the level of assistance each person needs. However, Rochester Young Professionals with Disabilities will attempt to address some common concerns, such as how and when does someone without an obvious disability reveal it to a potential employer? Do you put it on a résumé or wait until the interview?
And even though the Americans with Disabilities Act is supposed to provide protection, the fear of discrimination persists.
“As I go forward in my scientific career, are people going to take me seriously? Before I even speak my first word, how am I going to be perceived?” said Doucette, who majors in bioinformatics and belongs to a professional chemistry fraternity.
When Tom Turner, 40, graduated from Finger Lakes Community College in 1994, these sorts of concerns kept him from pursuing a career in television or radio broadcasting.
“It’s very competitive,” said Turner, born with spina bifida. “For someone in my situation, it just isn’t done.”
Paralyzed from the waist down, Turner wears long leg braces and must stand every few hours to avoid getting sores. He said he’s lucky his father owns Turner Automotive Corvettes in Victor and gave him a position doing e-commerce and creating ads for the family business. He is hopeful the new networking group will prove that people with disabilities are “hard-working, hard-playing members of society.”
More are savvy
Tammy Reynolds, director of The Arc of Monroe County’s Job Path program, works with 200 local companies to find employment for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She said there are many savvy employers interested in making sure their workforce represents the community at large.
“I think originally it was seen as an employer giving a charity opportunity, but that’s not the case anymore,” Reynolds said. “Industries are much more open than in the past. In fact, they’ll call us and ask if we have a candidate for them.”
Part of the reason attitudes have changed is that agencies such as The Arc of Monroe County, the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, and Adult Career and Continuing Education Services-Vocational Rehabilitation (ACCES-VR) train people with disabilities to ensure they have the skills to perform the job.
Research has shown that people with disabilities have the same level of productivity, better attendance and higher loyalty than their counterparts without disabilities, said Laura Maas, an integrated employment specialist at the Rochester district office of ACCES-VR. But she has had to do outreach to educate employers.
She’s also had to dispel some myths employers have that workers with disabilities cost more to hire. Sometimes the accommodations needed are as simple as providing ergonomic pens or a flexible work schedule, Maas said.
While there may be some agencies that offer a level of assistance, Doucette’s episode with her car showed the systemic barrier of bureaucracy. She decided to buy the vehicle herself, taking on an extra job that caused her to lose her Medicare and Social Security Income benefits for an entire summer.
But she doesn’t regret it. She drove the vehicle to Albany in March when she competed in the Miss Wheelchair New York pageant — and won.
“I feel like my advocacy work has just begun,” Doucette said. “The YP group will be another voice that I speak through.”