Thursday, June 10, 2021

Other service providers have made the change, will you?

Hire Me SC logo

 Lois Durrah Sr VP of Employment and Community Supports at the Charles Lea Center image

“People with disabilities have a desire and right to be contributing members of their communities. They have the skills, competencies, and passion to work in the same career fields as their peers without disabilities when given the chance. Securing competitive gainful employment allows the achievement of this significant goal. As providers and stakeholders, we have a responsibility to ensure employment opportunities for people with disabilities are never seen as a privilege, but rather acknowledged as an equal right.” 

Transform your services, today. 

Service providers are responsible for recognizing that people with disabilities, like those without, have individual interests and talents, and a person-centered approach should always be taken when providing services. The benefits of integrating people with disabilities into the workforce, where they can work alongside other persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities, are vast. Service providers should consider their needs, talents, and interests when assisting them in finding job opportunities or preparing them for a transition. 

The current model that places employees with disabilities into sheltered workshops rather than community settings is outdated and does not reflect the true composition of our community, where 1 in 5 Americans have a disability. Service providers should prepare and assist individuals with disabilities for life in competitive, integrated settings where they are able to work in and with their communities. 

The choices you make can have an everlasting impact on the lives of people with disabilities seeking employment statewide. 

Start your transformation today.  

Service Provider Resources

About Hire Me SC: People with disabilities can work, want to work, and should be afforded every opportunity to work. Powered by Able South Carolina and SCDEC, Hire Me SC is a campaign that promotes a culture of inclusion across the state of South Carolina, one in which employment for every individual, disability or not, is the norm rather than the exception. Learn more at https://www.hiremesc.org/

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