http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2008/02/29/my_hometown_priorities/culture_and_diversity/doc47c88a278507f341363214.txtAbove is the link for an Article our Vocational Division Director wrote for the Northwest Herald. For this article, Jason interviewed the EDS clients for his supporting evidence.
Please enjoy the read, and let us know if you have any questions....Thanks, Rachel
Diversity - Persons with developmental disabilities
Even today, one of the most powerless groups in our society are persons with developmental disabilities. Historically, these are individuals that have had little to absolutely no control in their lives. Many individuals were segregated by being placed in institutions, with the rest not being offered the same basic opportunities as everyone else. However, thanks to many parents, self-advocates, community agencies, and advocacy groups, life has been improving for these citizens. These are folks who are contributing members of our community.When it comes to diversity within the population, persons with developmental disabilities are a large segment of the community. The national average of individuals with developmental disabilities is 1.6 percent, which would translate to about 4,900 McHenry County residents.For the purpose of this essay, I spoke with a group of adults with developmental disabilities who attend the Employee Development Services program at the Pioneer Center for Human Services. I wanted to hear in their words what it meant to them to be a contributing member of society, what types of barriers they see in employment, and how they would make McHenry County a better place to live.I spoke to a group of 25 individuals, many were either working part time in the community, while the rest were working on trying to obtain a job. The employment experience ranged from fast-food and grocery store jobs to working in a library, animal hospital and data entry. Like all of us, income was a major reason for wanting a job, while they also wanted to be able to interact with different people and have responsibility in their life to feel important.I asked what the ideal workplace would be for them. Accessibility and accommodating work schedules were important, but so too was for employers to have a better understanding of persons with disabilities. Although many of these individuals need some extra support, they want to be seen as adults, and treated as such. Past barriers to obtaining or maintaining jobs included lack of availability, need for training, lack of parental support, and the biggest obstacle of all, transportation. Having to wait a long time for Dial-a-Ride, no routes in the evening or weekends, and lack of routes all were barriers for these individuals.In conclusion, to make McHenry County a better place to live, these individuals want to see better transportation, more job opportunities, and for all local citizens to see that persons with disabilities are important contributing members of our community.
Jason M. Clark Division
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