Workers with Disabilities Are Ready, Willing and Quite Able

In my more than 30 years with Good Shepherd Work Services [2], I have learned a simple fact about people with disabilities: They are among the most dedicated, competent and reliable employees. While these are challenging times for job seekers who have disabilities, there are resources available to help.

Many business owners assume that people with disabilities, especially those with cognitive challenges, can only do entry level or simple work. This cannot be farther from the truth. People with disabilities can grow and thrive while doing challenging work. Often, they can master complex tasks and perform at higher levels than workers without disabilities.

It is true that when these individuals begin a new job, they may require a bit more support than others. It is also true that people with disabilities often excel at tasks that are structured or repetitive. However, when placed in the right position and surrounded by the right people, workers with disabilities can become reliable, long-term employees who offer excellent work quality and consistency. Often, they become productivity leaders within their companies.

At Good Shepherd Work Services, we prepare people with physical and cognitive disabilities to enter the workforce, by offering job skills assessments, vocational education, career development counseling, and teaching the skills needed to attain and maintain employment. Then, we assist them in finding meaningful long-term employment. We do not rely on the charity of local businesspeople to accomplish this goal. Rather, we offer businesses high-quality workforce solutions [3] that will positively impact their bottom lines.

In doing this, we offer a helping hand to people with disabilities, and we help to fill the gap in social services that often leaves young adults with disabilities floundering in the years between high school and adulthood.

Last year, Good Shepherd Work Services partnered with Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit 21, the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Lehigh County Office of Developmental Programs, to launch a school-to-work program for students with disabilities known as Project SEARCH [4].

Through Project SEARCH, high school students with disabilities spend their last year in school working in various internships throughout Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network. The students work side-by-side with Good Shepherd employees, learning functional work skills in areas such as maintenance, grounds keeping, clerical work, patient care support and housekeeping. Their internships are supplemented by classroom time, where they learn the skills they will need to compete in the workforce and to excel in their chosen fields.

In the past two years, Project SEARCH has prepared 14 students with disabilities for the workforce. Last year’s graduates have all found employment, two of them within Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network, and three of the individuals graduating in June have already found employment. While the program typically ends with the school year, funds from CareerLink® Lehigh Valley will allow for internships to continue through the summer.
 
Project SEARCH not only gives students the work skills they need to compete, but it also gives students the life skills they need to succeed. I have seen amazing transformations in our Project SEARCH participants. Often, they begin the program timid and introverted. As they move through the program, they blossom as workers and as individuals. They gain confidence and self-esteem as they begin to understand that they have skills to offer and options after graduation.

For now, Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network is the only employer in the Lehigh Valley offering internships to Project SEARCH students. If more employers would participate, we could expand the program and prepare even more students to experience the dignity and sense of independence that comes with earning a paycheck.

Remember, employing people with disabilities, or helping them gain the skills they need to enter the workforce, is not a charitable endeavor. You will not sacrifice quality or need to subsidize second-rate work. Rather, if you take the time to find the right fit, you could find a long-term solution to a workforce challenge.

If you represent a business or organization that would like to provide internship opportunities for Project SEARCH students, please contact Cheryl Garr [5], director of Vocational Services at Good Shepherd Work Services, at 610-776-3365.