Well, okay. Here I am again. I wanted to write about this thing while I had the chance, so here goes.
One way in which the blind, (and people with many other disabilities for that matter), can often run into problems is when looking for jobs. I ran into this problem many times before I got the job that I have now, and I know others who have had some really interesting stories to tell. About ten years ago I went to an organization to apply for a job. I have chosen not to disclose my blindness ahead of time, feeling that my resume and cover letter should speak for themselves, and I wanted the chance to at least get my foot in the door before being told no. So, I went to this place to fill out an application. I was with my job coach who was there for moral support, (which, as it turned out was pointless). We walked in and the lady who was supposed to conduct the interview took one look at me and my cane and said, “Oh, you can’t work here. We use computers.” Of course by law she was required to allow me to fill out the application. She also gave me a brief interview in which the topic of computers came up. I did my best to explain to her what I could do with computers, but I didn’t feel that I was getting anywhere. I ended the interview by saying that I truly believed that if I were given the chance to do the job that I could do it well. I never heard back from the lady, and a couple of weeks later I saw the job posting come up again. My job coach said that if I tried to file any kind of discrimination suit he wouldn’t speak on my behalf because she let me fill out the application and have the interview. That may have been true, but it was that blatant statement that I couldn’t work there because they used computers that really got me. She had turned me down without even giving me the chance. This was pretty discouraging to say the least. This on top of the fact that the Rehab counselor I had at the time told me that I’d never amount to anything so I shouldn’t even bother trying. This statement was made by a blind counselor by the way.
Anyway, to make a long story short, everything worked out well, and I’m still loving my job after eighteen months. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for everyone. Take this example.
Anyone who knows Jim knows that he is extremely into the United States military. He has said on several occasions that if he could see he would have gone into the service. He has asked about civilian posts and been told that he can’t do them. Recently, in his search for a job, he put in an application to AmeriCorps. He felt that he might finally have the chance to serve his country, even if it was just on the local level. I worked for a year with the AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program back in 1999-2000, and we had some friends who also worked with VISTA, so we both thought that Jim, with his masters degree would be perfect.
After some initial problems with the online application, he got some help filling out the paper one and was called in for an interview. He said that he was very happy with the way the interview had gone. They talked about two opportunities that were available and where they thought Jim would do well. Both of these placements were in inner-city schools where he would do tutoring and mentoring of students. He was told that there would be a second interview. He said that the interview itself and the people were very positive, and he felt very good about the whole situation.
About a week later as part of my job, I actually spoke to the person that works with all the people with disabilities who work for AmeriCorps in the state. I mentioned that Jim had applied, and she told me that she had heard about him at a weekly meeting. This seemed even more positive. He was mentioned at a state-wide meeting after all, so they must really be interested in him.
A couple weeks later, after getting all his reference letters turned in and everything, he was informed that the second interview was going to be scheduled. This interview was with different people and at a different location. On the day of the interview, Jim left early to go drop off some things for me at the post office and then took the city bus up to the interview site. Upon arriving, and after some confusion, he was told that the person he was supposed to interview with wasn’t even in the office. He came home and checked his email, and there was a message from the person he was supposed to meet with stating that the interview would need to be rescheduled. There was no phone call, just this email.
Well, needless to say, Jim looked into getting the interview rescheduled. About a week later, (I think it was just last week now but it may have been two weeks ago all ready), he finally heard back from this lady. she told him that there were no longer any positions available so there wouldn’t be any second interview. I told Jim that he should contact the person that he had interviewed with first and see what she had to say about the whole thing. He did, and the response he got back was rather interesting. In the message he said that he felt that he wasn’t given a fair chance with that second interview, and that he felt that he was being discriminated against. It just seemed really odd that they’d give him the date for the interview, but not give him the chance to reschedule when there was no interview due to no fault of his own. Surprisingly enough, the lady emailed him back and said that she’d be lying if she didn’t agree with Jim’s assessment of the situation. He doesn’t blame this first lady. She offered him the chance to work in a different area writing curriculum, however he has absolutely no experience with that, and feels that he would be doing a disservice by taking that kind of position.
So, what comes next? I have the contact information for the person I met with a couple weeks back. Personally I feel that he should contact her and let her know what happened. He’s hesitant to do so, and says that even if a job becomes available there he probably wouldn’t take it now.
Despite this problem, Jim is continuing his job search, and his goal is to be employed by Christmas. Everyone keep your fingers crossed!
How could situations like this be avoided in the future? To me, I think it’s very important that everyone who is working go through sensitivity training whether it be on the local, state, or national levels. I think many people are scared of people with disabilities, and they often tend to underestimate what we can do. As an example, another situation I ran into during a conference a couple of weeks back. I was talking with someone from the Salvation Army. I was sitting in front of my laptop doing some things on the Internet using speech and braille. Despite what I was doing, and what this man was seeing, he kept insisting that blind people weren’t able to do many jobs. My boss was getting really frustrated with him. When he made a comment about a visually impaired person helping with the laundry at the Salvation Army shelter I think my boss was going to lose it. It was like this guy just couldn’t get it! Finally I came right out and said that we were truly capable of so much more than laundry. I guess it was just one of those “you just had to be there” kinds of things. this guy was just so outright condescending despite what he was seeing in front of him, and we were getting really frustrated. It was like hitting our heads against a brick wall. I think sensitivity training would go a long way in letting this man, and others like him, know how to be a bit more tactful about his comments and how he said things.
I also think that there should be programs instituted that would allow people with disabilities to do internships with different companies; sort of a trial run kind of thing. It would give well-qualified individuals a chance to prove themselves to potential employers. I also think that employer networks should be set up. These networks would allow people working in similar fields to observe PWDs in other organizations where they have been successfully employed.
These are just a few suggestions for increasing employer awareness. Do I think it would be 100 percent effective? No. But I honestly think it’s got to be better than it is now. It’s sad when people have worked so hard for there college degrees, only to end up working in sheltered workshops for very little money when they’re worth so much more. I can only hope that over time things will start to look up and that employers will start to tap in to the wealth of experience that they could get if they’d look past the disability and see the person behind it.
John said
Man! I completely agree with everything you said! Had a similar experience, except that in some ways it was even more blatant. I had told this organization of my being blind, because there seemed to be conflicting feelings on whether that should be done. When we rolled up to the gate, (it was one of these places with very tight security), my job placement specialist placed a call to the lady inside. She put the cell phone on speaker so that I could hear everything that was said, and I heard that lady say “Don’t bother bringing him in here because he can’t see the screen!” We kept trying, in vain of course, to explain the technology that would make computer work possible, but after a while we had to leave.
Have tried a couple of other things too, once at Wachovia and again at some place I can’t clearly recall. So for the time being, I’m stuck in one of those dreaded wowkshops, as you said feeling like my college degree was a waste of time. But its ok though, my cousin and I are planning to move to New York City or somewhere nearby if we can increase our chances of being hired.
I’m very happy that you have such a good job, it does give me some kind of hope of achieving one myself. And I’m sorry for what your husband has gone through, I hope he is able to find something. I know the feeling!
Sas said
I said ‘amen’ out loud when you wrote the following: ‘It’s sad when people have worked so hard for there college degrees, only to end up working in sheltered workshops for very little
money when they’re worth so much more.’
I can name all too many at Industries who could have worked anywhere else, but just sat there making pens instead. Fine. I had to do the same for a while, so I get that. But when you just stay there putting together pens and collecting SSI when you could be truly productive — that I don’t get. Worse, there are hundreds of people with other functional problems who are cheated out of gainful employment and a sense of accomplishment because of someone who could just as easily be teaching or practicing law. That makes me sad.
Wynter said
This post and its comments just give me the most horrible feeling, like a heavy stone on my chest. I don’t know why I chose to describe that, but it’s true anyway. I’ve often thought about the problem of such outrageously high unemployment among people with disabilities. What can be done? Forgive me if this comment has an outright depressing and pecimistic tone. It’s just where I am at the moment on the issue, not how things are.
No matter how many training seminars and videos and books employers are given, the disabled individual is still faced with an individual or group who may be fearful or simply very uncomfortable with the disability and wish to avoid it. Discrimination is a difficult if not impossible thing to prove in the initial period of seeking a job, that is if the disabled individual actually wishes to prove it. Whether or not the disability was the reason for being turned down, the potential employer can say that the disabled individual was not right for the job for a number of other, valid reasons. Also, it often seems so much simpler to find someone who can do the job as it has typically been done, rather than to hire someone who may need special adaptive equipment or techniques, even if that person has the equipment themselves, knows the techniques, and there need not be any extra work done by the employer to insure successful, productive employment.
There are problems from the other side as well. Many people with disabilities are aware of the extremely high rate of unemployment among the disabled, and it is a daunting, scary thing to know. It may, in some cases, keep a person who genuinely wants to work from seeking employment, especially if attitudes of family, peers, and service providers have shaped the disabled person’s self-image in such a way that he/she believes him/herself to be dependent, incapable, or otherwise unemployable. I think this self-image is not necessarily a conscious thing either. A disabled person could vehemently express that he/she is extremely capable and qualified to do a particular job, while inside wondering if in fact that’s true. It’s much the same as the motivational, hallmark card, “You can do anything you set your mind to,” (but let’s get someone else to do this or that, OK?) Disabled people who have this conscious or subconscious image of themselves as unemployable may struggle with a lifetime of poor work habits if they are eventually employed.
Just some things to think about. I’m sorry this was such a downer. I’ve just been thinking about those things lately and thought I’d write them down.