National Disablility Employment Awareness Month
The employment department at proAbility, The Arc of Bristol County’s Rhode Island division, has expanded and evolved within the last year. With three employment coaches spending time with each employment candidate, and a director overseeing proAbility’s employment department, the success stories of candidates seeking integrated employment have multiplied.
Kyley, a young woman who worked in different jobs previously, recently started a new volunteer opportunity. With the prompt of Mike, an employment coach at proAbility, Kyley began thinking about where she would want to volunteer. She located The Village at Waterman Lake, a retirement community in Smithfield. Kyley called, with the help of her direct support staff, and asked about volunteer opportunities. She was asked to come that afternoon for an interview by Gloria, the Activities Director at The Village at Waterman Lake. During the interview, her now supervisor- Gloria, advised that there could be an employment opportunity after a consistent volunteer timeline.
Kyley has been volunteering weekly, with the hope of increasing those hours, since mid-August. Kyley’s pride, enthusiasm, and confidence in herself have grown exponentially with this new role. Gloria appreciates her willingness to talk with the residents, participate as an assistant in adaptive yoga, and lead discussions on famous people that she has researched. Kyley says, “This is the perfect fit for me!” Gloria, and their visiting yoga instructor, Mary, echoed that they appreciate Kyley’s social personality, her energy, and her enthusiasm. Gloria comments that Kyley’s confidence has grown so much within the short time she has had this opportunity.
Ryan is a young man who works at Stop & Shop, beginning this endeavor in June. He has previous work experience that he was happy to have, but did not capture his goal of successful integration skill development. With his current role as a front-end courtesy clerk, Ryan’s confidence exudes. He explains how his scheduled hours have increased. He also earned an hourly pay increase when he accepted this role. He appreciates this relatively new opportunity in his work experience.
Ryan’s coworkers comment he is performing extremely well and makes prompted changes immediately to tasks, increasing his efficiency and independence. Ryan has progressed from being a reticent individual who would not engage with the customer, to establishing eye contact, wishing the customer a good day, and interacting with his co-workers. The U.S. Department of Labor reports that employers embracing disabilities in their talent pool have a 90% increase in retention rates, a 45% increase in workplace safety, and a 72% increase in productivity. Ryan’s supervisors and coworkers echo this, reporting that when Ryan has his days off, they fully appreciate Ryan and his work ethic. Ryan’s co-workers and support staff say that Ryan is self-directed, never has to be told more than once what to do, and is pleasant to be around.
Rachel is a young woman who began working at Nourish 401 within Roger Williams Zoo in March 2022. Rachel has demonstrated immense progress from last year to now. She knows her role well and can determine her next task without prompting. Rachel has another unique trait, in that she is an identical twin. Her twin sister, Damaris began working at Nourish 401 in March of 2023. This naturally gave Rachel more confidence as she could assist her sister in her new role.
Their supervisors are pleased with the twins’ progress and have noticed that they are hard workers who need little direction from their supervisors. When Rachel and Damaris first started at the zoo, they both did their jobs quietly, speaking softly to their peers and customers. In the past few months, Rachel and Damaris have blossomed into friendly, outgoing individuals. Speaking with their peers and co-workers, joining in more conversations at proAbility and taking part in outside activities like bowling and going out into the community.
These success stories are just a few that proAbility chose to highlight this year. In Attleboro at The Arc of Bristol County, our employment stories are commencing as we open this initiative. Anthony Carlo, the Director of Employment, started in proAbility, but will be overseeing both departments, hoping to build Attleboro, while maintaining the strength in proAbility. According to an article by Forbes, employees with disabilities can contribute unique perspectives in overcoming challenges and completing a task. If you are seeking loyal, dedicated, and creative employees, contact The Arc of Bristol County dba proAbility. We may contain the missing piece to your employment puzzle!
