As anyone who has worked with Ross S. can attest, he is fiercely independent and likes to accomplish as much as he can on his own. The same has been true during his job search; he is extremely motivated and is always looking for employment opportunities. Transporting a person served to and from work is one of the biggest challenges facing an individual when he or she seeks employment.
Prior to landing his current job, Ross applied to many opportunities where he was offered a job, but the transportation was just too challenging. For example, if he had accepted one job offer, it would have been three bus transfers and three hours on the bus to get to the job site, and then a $27.00 cab ride home due to bus service ending after 10:30pm. In this circumstance, Ross and all people involved agreed that this situation would not work, so he had to decline the job offer.
Dungarvin worked to support Ross in looking at all of the factors that impact if a job opportunity will be the right fit for him, including these types of transportation challenges. One of the first areas regarding transportation in which Ross received help was by applying to Metro Mobility. Dungarvin staff helped him to navigate the system and the necessary paperwork, as well as providing Ross an outlet to vent his concerns and frustrations. All of these supports helped Ross get ready for this step of independent community transportation. After all the paperwork was completed, Ross was interviewed by Metro Mobility, after which he received an ID to begin riding the Metro Mobility bus. This opened up so many new doors for Ross when it came to the location of potential job opportunities.
Ross’ Supported Employment Specialist (SES), John Finnerty, also began collecting paper applications from as many restaurants as possible within walking or biking distance, or a only a short bus ride away from Ross’ home. Ross found that these paper applications were easy for him to fill out independently. When one of Ross’ staff learned about an opening for a dishwasher at a Restaurant/Bar & Grill just up the road, an application was collected. Ross did a fantastic job of filling it out on his own and turning it in on a Friday. Ross was interviewed by the Kitchen Manager that very weekend and was offered the job. Ross would start working that upcoming Thursday afternoon!
Ross had a willingness to learn more about the opportunity, which he knew he could only do by completing and submitting the application, and subsequently took the initiative and did both in the same afternoon. He pushed for the interview and, this is key and can’t be stressed strongly enough, he approached the interview with a tremendous amount of confidence, enthusiasm, and a can-do attitude, responding to the Kitchen Manager’s questions with phrases like, “Sure I can do that!” and “No problem, that’s easy, I’ve done that before!”
His SES staff said, “Ross is an example of how to get hired and the embodiment of what we try to impart in the people we support.” He has taken everything that his Employment Specialist has told him to heart and given his best effort. Some of the tips John has given Ross are:
- Be open to opportunities, even if they don’t initially sound like the best fit.
- You will rarely get an interview for an opportunity if you don’t fill out and submit an application. If you are fortunate enough to be extended an invitation to interview for the job, approach it with an open mind, thinking about what additional opportunities it could present.
- Finally, each person should interview with a positive, can-do attitude, with energy and enthusiasm, as if it is the only job you have ever really wanted. If you are extended a job offer but the position isn’t a good fit, you can always turn it down. It is important to give the company a chance by applying and going through the interview process.
John also added, “I’ve worked with some people who don’t get as many job interviews in a year as Ross did in a month, but if those folks approached those opportunities the way Ross did they would all be employed!”
As in years past, Dungarvin Minnesota participated in the ARRM Day at the Capitol on March 4, 2014. As part of Dungarvin’s continuing efforts, we are looking for persons served, employees, and families creative ideas and help in establishing relationships with our State legislators. Such ideas might include tours or having appropriate representatives attend events and functions with or about the people we support. E-mails, letters and meetings with your representatives are always encouraged. Please let the supervisor know your ideas and the support you need to make them happen.
Here are some resources to help you get started:
By visiting the second web site listed, you can research your representatives and their voting history. Remember that these are your elected officials. How well do they advocate for you?
Dungarvin will continue to assist and support both employees and persons served to share their personal stories with their representatives. We will be inviting representatives for home visits to provide employees, individuals served, and their families the opportunity to share their personal stories with legislators. I encourage all those impacted by the decisions made during this legislative session to get involved either by writing to your legislator, meeting with them in person, and/or attending one of their visits to our homes.
I was both honored and flabbergasted when an employee came to me and asked if I would be interested in doing a presentation at her son’s school for career day. It was at her son’s request. I had met her son on several different occasions and I could not say no to the polite, handsome, little guy with a keen sense of humor. I do not have children, so this is all new to me.
So, I started thinking about it. What in the world could I do or say about my work to keep the interest of intermediate school children? Would they be interested in the heaps of paperwork on my desk or the string of post-its across my monitor? Or maybe I can compare my job to a fireman or a policeman. I do put out fires often and get called when there is a dispute, a theft, or a fight. And then I thought, what a wonderful opportunity to talk about people with disabilities and the folks who support them. I am certain that most of the children will have known somebody with a disability. However, they may not know the daily challenges associated with that and the amount of tolerance, dedication and compassion it takes to support them. There you have it…my Career Day presentation.
I figured I could not go in empty handed, so I made contact with the local chapter of People First, which is a self-advocacy group for people with disabilities. They set me up with some information and some stickers to hand out regarding the “Say No to the R Word” campaign. I look forward to meeting these little people and I hope my message of tolerance, compassion and dedication leaves them thinking that just maybe, working with people with disabilities as a career is a great idea. I thought so 27 years ago.