AIR DATE JULY 13, 2023

Title: Career Support for Individuals with Disabilities

Emily learns about support available for individuals with disabilities in the central Florida region. She also uncovers the truth behind many misconceptions related to disabilities and employment.

Guests

employU, Executive Director – Keith Bourkney

DiscoverABILITY, Community Outreach Coordinator – Mayla DeBonville

Quest, Inc., President & CEO – John Gill

Employers Find Numerous Benefits Hiring Individuals with Disabilities

In 2022, only 21% of people with disabilities were employed. Although that figure seems incredibly low, the trends are going in the right direction. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that only 19% held employment in 2021.

Several organizations in our community are working to change this trend. I recently spoke with employU, DiscoverAbility, and Quest Inc representatives to discuss the benefits of hiring someone with disabilities.

“We take a deep dive look into somebody’s qualifications, education, and their skills and what they’re interested in, and trying to find them actually long-term career,” said Keith Bourkney, Executive Director of employU. “We want to get them in a direction of something that is a good fit.”

Mayla DeBonville from DiscoverAbility agrees. “We have a handful of different services,” she told me, listing vocational evaluations, mental health counseling, and an entire training department.

It Takes a Supportive Approach to Create Employment Opportunities

John Gill of Quest Inc spoke to me about the importance of individuality when seeking employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. That includes offering residential options.

“We offer everything from medical homes for individuals that have chronic illnesses or developmental disabilities to independent living at Quest Village,” Gill said.

Services are typically complimentary for the individuals being served, but there are some qualification steps for families to take. All three organizations need documentation of the disability, including a 504 plan or an IEP.

For DeBonville, the administrative side of things is only one support. “We have a very diverse team,” she told me. “About 18 of us speak a different language. We have individuals on our team that use American Sign Language.”

By embracing diversity, it becomes easier to serve those who can thrive when the right supports are available for their individual needs.

Finding the Right Team Members Is Essential for Success

Bourkney described their workflows as a matching process when helping someone find meaningful employment. “We have people come to us, and they have a travel distance and an area where they want to live in work,” he said. “We have team members in those areas to meet with them, form a strong relationship, and [find] the types of jobs that will be a good fit.”

At Quest Inc, internal employment opportunities allow open positions to be matched through a program called Blossom. “At Blossom, we manufacture different things,” Gill told me. “We have candles, soaps, and what it does is offer personal or behavioral support in an environment where they can learn marketable skills.”

All three organizations agree that several misconceptions exist societally when exploring employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. “Our customers are ready and willing to work,” said DeBonville. “I think a lot of times people that have disabilities might not think that they are able to work, whether it be just the idea around disabilities or a lot of the people that we work with receive social security benefits and they don’t think they can work.”

Long-term employment is the focus of employU, and that starts with the relationship-building process with companies in the area. A strong employer is going to look outside the box, kind of think outside the box, and potentially customize that job,” said Bourkney.

Gill reminded me that families need support in these situations because of the time and financial perspectives involved. “We give people a shoulder,” he said. “We give people an ear, and we try to listen to what their situation is and guide them through whatever proceed they need to be successful.”

More information about these organizations is available at employu.org, discoverability.org, and QuestInc.org.