Post by christie on Jul 17, 2004 21:39:13 GMT -5
Thought I Would Share...
"Three Musketeers" show employment advances for people with disabilities
By ABIGAIL KLINGBEIL
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: March 28, 2004)
For Jason A. Kingsley, work serves many of the same functions it does for most other people. It gives him money, fills the hours of his day, and allows him to interact with people. But for Kingsley and his roommates, it also serves another function — to crush people's ideas about what people with Down syndrome can and cannot achieve.
"We want to erase the stereotypes and misconceptions people have about disabilities," says Kingsley, 29. "The doctor who delivered me never thought I'd amount to anything. I showed him wrong. We came a long way to become a success, especially when it comes to work."
Kingsley and his roommates, Yaniv S. Gorodischer, 26, and Raymond L. Frost Jr., 25, work at a library, a law firm and a pet supply store, respectively. Frost has had the same job for the past seven years, which is four years and 10 months longer than the median tenure of retail workers in this country, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
These three Westchester County men — who call themselves the Three Musketeers — reflect a sea change in the role of people with disabilities in the work force.
"People with Down syndrome used to be kind of cubby-holed into food service or maintenance," says Emily Perl Kingsley, Jason Kingsley's mother. "Those jobs are OK, but it's really wonderful that nowadays people are being given other options — to be able to work in areas other than the old stereotypical fields they were earmarked for."
Kim Spahn, assistant executive director of Westchester ARC, points to the mid-1980s as a seminal time for the professional advancement of people with developmental disabilities. At that time, University of Wisconsin Professor Lou Brown was advocating vociferously for educational, societal and professional inclusion for people with disabilities. Spahn attributes Brown's published papers and speeches across the country for sparking a movement.
Westchester ARC, which provides services to people with developmental disabilities, and similar agencies followed the supported employment model Brown recommended. It called for moving people with disabilities from "sheltered workshops," such as bakeries run by social service agencies, to mainstream work environments where they would be supported by a job coach.
About 500 people worked at Westchester ARC's sheltered workshops in 1986, Spahn says. Now about 200 people work there.
"We've actually moved about 300 people out to individual work settings," Spahn says. "We had one of our staff members work side by side with this individual to make sure that job was successful."
Westchester ARC has partnerships with more than 250 companies. In the past year, it has placed more than 60 people in jobs. Each person is paid at least minimum wage through a service contract with the employer and is accompanied by a job coach for at least the first 30 days.
Raymond Frost meets only occasionally with his job coach. After seven years working at Petco, he helps to train new employees. "I've seen managers and co-workers go in and out," he says.
In a 30-minute span one recent afternoon, Frost fed birds, helped two young men select a tiny white mouse and helped a shopper find a kitty litter mat she saw advertised for sale in a Petco flier.
"The best thing I like about my job is helping people," Frost says.
Frost works at Petco five days a week, eight hours a day. He arrives at 6 a.m. each Thursday — two hours earlier than usual — to help unload pet food and supplies that arrive weekly by truck. His roommates make sure he goes to sleep early Wednesday night.
Yaniv Gorodischer sorts mail, shreds sensitive documents and keeps the supply pantry stocked at the Armonk law offices of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP. Famed founding attorney David Boies served as special trial counsel for the federal antitrust case against Microsoft Corp.
Boies, Schiller & Flexner teamed up with Westchester ARC in the summer of 2002, when the law firm moved into newly constructed offices in Armonk.
"One of the issues that was apparent to us before we moved in was we needed a system for coordinating the delivery of mail within the office and making sure the mail got delivered from the post office," says Robin Henry, administrative partner for the office, which has about 40 attorneys.
"This was real work that we needed to have done, and we were going to hire someone to do it," Henry says. The firm decided working with Westchester ARC clients would benefit the firm and the community.
"It has been a smashing success on a work level from day one," she says.
"It gives people an opportunity to meet a group of very special individuals who we might not otherwise have the opportunity to meet," Henry says. "It's fair to say they really humanized our office, brought something special to the place."
The three friends discussed their feelings about work over a homemade dinner one recent evening.
Like many other people in the work force, Kingsley hopes to take his career to another level.
As a child, Kingsley made several appearances on the children's show "Sesame Street," the program for which his mother works. He also has appeared on episodes of "Touched by an Angel" and "Fall Guy."
His mother has called three area filmmaking companies to try to set up a job for her son, but has not found a match. Because her son has limited transportation options, she has not expanded the search to New York City. "He kind of has a love affair with the media, but it's really hard to find a job in that field," Emily Perl Kingsley says.
For now, Kingsley stocks and shelves videos and DVDs at the White Plains Library. "I like working there and getting paid," he says.
"Three Musketeers" show employment advances for people with disabilities
By ABIGAIL KLINGBEIL
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: March 28, 2004)
For Jason A. Kingsley, work serves many of the same functions it does for most other people. It gives him money, fills the hours of his day, and allows him to interact with people. But for Kingsley and his roommates, it also serves another function — to crush people's ideas about what people with Down syndrome can and cannot achieve.
"We want to erase the stereotypes and misconceptions people have about disabilities," says Kingsley, 29. "The doctor who delivered me never thought I'd amount to anything. I showed him wrong. We came a long way to become a success, especially when it comes to work."
Kingsley and his roommates, Yaniv S. Gorodischer, 26, and Raymond L. Frost Jr., 25, work at a library, a law firm and a pet supply store, respectively. Frost has had the same job for the past seven years, which is four years and 10 months longer than the median tenure of retail workers in this country, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
These three Westchester County men — who call themselves the Three Musketeers — reflect a sea change in the role of people with disabilities in the work force.
"People with Down syndrome used to be kind of cubby-holed into food service or maintenance," says Emily Perl Kingsley, Jason Kingsley's mother. "Those jobs are OK, but it's really wonderful that nowadays people are being given other options — to be able to work in areas other than the old stereotypical fields they were earmarked for."
Kim Spahn, assistant executive director of Westchester ARC, points to the mid-1980s as a seminal time for the professional advancement of people with developmental disabilities. At that time, University of Wisconsin Professor Lou Brown was advocating vociferously for educational, societal and professional inclusion for people with disabilities. Spahn attributes Brown's published papers and speeches across the country for sparking a movement.
Westchester ARC, which provides services to people with developmental disabilities, and similar agencies followed the supported employment model Brown recommended. It called for moving people with disabilities from "sheltered workshops," such as bakeries run by social service agencies, to mainstream work environments where they would be supported by a job coach.
About 500 people worked at Westchester ARC's sheltered workshops in 1986, Spahn says. Now about 200 people work there.
"We've actually moved about 300 people out to individual work settings," Spahn says. "We had one of our staff members work side by side with this individual to make sure that job was successful."
Westchester ARC has partnerships with more than 250 companies. In the past year, it has placed more than 60 people in jobs. Each person is paid at least minimum wage through a service contract with the employer and is accompanied by a job coach for at least the first 30 days.
Raymond Frost meets only occasionally with his job coach. After seven years working at Petco, he helps to train new employees. "I've seen managers and co-workers go in and out," he says.
In a 30-minute span one recent afternoon, Frost fed birds, helped two young men select a tiny white mouse and helped a shopper find a kitty litter mat she saw advertised for sale in a Petco flier.
"The best thing I like about my job is helping people," Frost says.
Frost works at Petco five days a week, eight hours a day. He arrives at 6 a.m. each Thursday — two hours earlier than usual — to help unload pet food and supplies that arrive weekly by truck. His roommates make sure he goes to sleep early Wednesday night.
Yaniv Gorodischer sorts mail, shreds sensitive documents and keeps the supply pantry stocked at the Armonk law offices of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP. Famed founding attorney David Boies served as special trial counsel for the federal antitrust case against Microsoft Corp.
Boies, Schiller & Flexner teamed up with Westchester ARC in the summer of 2002, when the law firm moved into newly constructed offices in Armonk.
"One of the issues that was apparent to us before we moved in was we needed a system for coordinating the delivery of mail within the office and making sure the mail got delivered from the post office," says Robin Henry, administrative partner for the office, which has about 40 attorneys.
"This was real work that we needed to have done, and we were going to hire someone to do it," Henry says. The firm decided working with Westchester ARC clients would benefit the firm and the community.
"It has been a smashing success on a work level from day one," she says.
"It gives people an opportunity to meet a group of very special individuals who we might not otherwise have the opportunity to meet," Henry says. "It's fair to say they really humanized our office, brought something special to the place."
The three friends discussed their feelings about work over a homemade dinner one recent evening.
Like many other people in the work force, Kingsley hopes to take his career to another level.
As a child, Kingsley made several appearances on the children's show "Sesame Street," the program for which his mother works. He also has appeared on episodes of "Touched by an Angel" and "Fall Guy."
His mother has called three area filmmaking companies to try to set up a job for her son, but has not found a match. Because her son has limited transportation options, she has not expanded the search to New York City. "He kind of has a love affair with the media, but it's really hard to find a job in that field," Emily Perl Kingsley says.
For now, Kingsley stocks and shelves videos and DVDs at the White Plains Library. "I like working there and getting paid," he says.