[nabs-l] vr counselors and job support

Mon May 14 18:40:21 UTC 2012

Anmol,
Sorry but I really feel that some vr counselors don't care much. If they 
don't call or write back timely, if they will not update your equipment 
putting you at a even greater disadvantage, it seems to me they don't care.

I did network and worked on my own to attain all internships including the 
pending one. I even had to install my personal copy of jaws at national 
crime prevention council, since being non government they could not procure 
jaws for me.

When people, whether blind or sighted, cannot find work, they often get more 
internships to get more experience. Many college grads do this in this 
economy.  And to have that effort put down was real insulting to me.  And 
what in blazes does my counselor think is a "real job". Okay, as far as I'm 
concerned a "real job" is one which you go to work, contribute, and get paid 
for it.  A real job to me has potential for advancement. I'm concerned that 
when they just say jobs, it could be anything just to close your case.

I'll add then you cannot go anywhere in a job and say get laid off or lose 
the job then, and then know what you do? You open a vr case again! If you 
found a good quality job in the first place that seemed secure and where you 
exercised transferable skills, uyou will not need to reopen your case.

Yeah, I try and find internships and jobs. Not enough blind people do it, 
that is for sure.
Ashley

-----Original Message----- 
From: Anmol Bhatia
Sent: Monday, May 14, 2012 2:18 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] vr counselors and job support

Josh,
As a person who will be a VR Counselor within the next year or two, I do not 
really appreciate people saying that VR Counselors do not care about their 
consumers. I have had a whole new appreciation for the field of 
Rehabilitation Counseling and for VR Counselors since I have enrolled in the 
MS in Rehabilitation Counseling program at the University of Arkansas.
I agree that what Ashley's counselor is doing is not good. Networking and 
getting internship experience is important since thats how you get a job, 
and as a counselor I will encourage that. However, to say we do not care and 
the only thing we are interested in is to close a case is frankly not true 
for most counselors.
The government spends alot of money on rehabilitation, but the unemployment 
number is still not going down. So tax payers want answers and our elected 
officials who have to answer to tax payers put pressure on directors of the 
rehabilitation agencies to show results and the directors put pressure on 
people under them and it goes all the way down to the bottom person who is 
the VR Counselor. The counselors are told to close so many cases with a 6 
which means that the case has been successful and the Consumer is employed 
or else lose their job. However, policy makers do not consider factors that 
have hender the ability of a blind person to get a job such as a poor 
economy, the historical high number of blind people who are unemployed, and 
so on. All they care about is how many blind people are employed so that 
they can justify spending the money they are spending on rehabilitation.
The process of finding a job is a two way process and it takes both the VR 
Counselor and the Consumer to work together. The Counselor needs the 
Consumer to find employment so that they can successfully close their case 
and keep their job, but whats more important is that the consumer needs to 
do everything they can to find themself a job so that they can get off SSDI 
and live a happy and successful life.
To be quite frank, and it will afend some people on this list, but many 
blind people are not doing their part to find themself a job. To many blind 
people expect the VR Counselor to do everything. To be quite honest, it has 
got to a point to where people consider rehab to be a right instead of a 
privledge. In many countries they do not have rehab and blind people are 
still managing to live and some have pretty successful careers. There is 
know law that says that you have to take rehabilitation so if you do not 
like your counselor or do not like the process of rehabilitation, then 
simply request for your case to be closed. The blind person is totally 
capable to find their own job, and they should do as much for themself as 
they can. As a future VR Counselor I will do whatever I can to help my 
Consumers, this why I entered this field but I can not help consumers who do 
not want to help themselves. So before making clames that VR Counselors do 
not care
about their consumers, think about the job we have to do and ask yourself if 
you are doing everything to help yourself.

Anmol
I seldom think about my limitations, and they never make me sad. Perhaps 
there is just a touch of yearning at times; but it is vague, like a breeze 
among flowers.
Hellen Keller

--- On Sun, 5/13/12, Joshua Lester <jlester8462 at students.pccua.edu> wrote:

> From: Joshua Lester <jlester8462 at students.pccua.edu>
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] vr counselors and job support
> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Sunday, May 13, 2012, 4:59 PM
> That's my problem with most of the VR
> counselors, that I've dealt with!
> They don't really care about us!
> They just want to close our cases, because we're just an
> unwanted
> burden, to them!
> I'm supporting you, and am hoping for the best.
> BTW, we complain all the time about VR, but what are we
> doing to
> improve the system?
> How can we improve it?
> Well, after I get my degree, there's a job opening up, in my
> state, to
> work for VR!
> If more of us, (clients,) started trying to get jobs,
> working for VR,
> we could be the very ones, to improve the systems, and make
> them
> better support our people!
> As a VR counselor, I'd make sure that my clients were able
> to get the
> jobs, that they want, if possible!
> Blessings, Joshua
>
> On 5/13/12, Ashley Bramlett <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
> wrote:
> > Hi Josh,
> > No, this is an employee of the agency; its  a job
> placement specialist, not
> >
> > a center.
> > My question is what do these people do? From the one
> blind client I spoke
> > with, he said the specialist didn't do much of anything
> but told him to look
> >
> > online for job ads.
> > I'll revise my sentence  from my first email.
> >
> > After  I just told her I looked and few entry
> level jobs there and to put
> > down an internship where my foot will be in the door in
> the government  that
> >
> > may lead somewhere is insulting.
> > Not clear here what insulted me.
> >
> > After I just told her I looked and found few entry
> level jobs I qualified
> > for, I told her I  had an internship coming where
> I could get my foot in the
> >
> > door in the government and this internship may lead to
> more permanent work,
> >
> > her comment about finding a real job insulted me.
> >
> > I'll add its like all she cares about getting clients
> jobs, not good
> > careers, to heck with what they want to do, just get
> them jobs and close
> > their cases.
> > Not a good attitude.  Also, many college grads are
> doing just what I am--
> > getting internships to hopefully lead to full time
> work. There was an
> > article in the New york times about this.
> Inexperienced young people cannot
> >
> > find work.  What world do vr counselors live in?
> > Well not the real world where people are struggling and
> worried about lay
> > off and people are losing homes or working three part
> time jobs to pay for
> > the essentials of life.
> > I'm trying to say its tough for anyone, and being
> > blind makes it a little harder. A vr counselor should
> support you by giving
> >
> > you the skills to look for work and help you network,
> not throwing you to
> > some so called specialist who probably just finds any
> job and if you take it
> >
> > they can close your case. No, I'll be bold and stand up
> to them and go for
> > the job that fits my skills.
> >
> > Ashley
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Joshua Lester
> > Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2012 5:22 PM
> > To: National Association of Blind Students mailing
> list
> > Subject: Re: [nabs-l] vr counselors and job support
> >
> > LWSB was a job placement center.
> > You'd go, and they'd train you for the IRS programs.
> > If you work with VR, you'll know, they'll try to send
> you to LWSB, or
> > a center like it!
> > Blessings, Joshua
> >
> > On 5/13/12, Ashley Bramlett <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
> wrote:
> >> Hi all,
> >>
> >> Well, I couldn’t think of a good subject line for
> this complex issue.
> >>
> >> I’ll say that I graduated in 2009 with a general
> BA degree in liberal
> >> studies; kind of where you make your won program to
> complete a degree; I
> >> picked  my concentrations of social sciences
> and communication. Then
> >> after
> >> some training at our state center, I pursued a
> writing certificate at
> >> Nova,
> >> northern Virginia community college.  I’m
> finishing that next semester.
> >> I
> >> wanted to add more to my resume and take classes
> specific to writing, so
> >> this was a good investment for me.  My career
> goal is broad; in this
> >> economy
> >> you cannot be too picky, whether you are blind or
> not.
> >> I desire to work in something to help people. I’m
> thinking outreach,
> >> communication, customer service, or
> development.  I want to work with a
> >> team
> >> of people in an office.
> >>
> >> That is some background.  Now as we all know
> getting a job is tough with
> >> the
> >> down economy and most jobs are gotten via
> networking anyway.
> >> I networked via a disability mentoring day for
> customs and border patrol;
> >>
> >> I
> >> was refered for a unpaid internship in section 508
> compliance after
> >> following up with the disability program manager. I
> intend to get this
> >> internship once going through their rigorrous
> background check.
> >>
> >> Well, I’m frustrated with my vr counselor.
> I tell her I’m looking for
> >> work
> >> and explain barriers like lack of experience;
> visual tasks in entry level
> >> jobs that include filing, sorting mail, data entry
> etc, etc.
> >> She schedules a meeting with me to talk over my
> case and I wonder if she
> >> is
> >> forcing a service on me for which it will do no
> good.
> >>
> >> I then tell her about my internship to end the
> call. “well, you are good
> >> at
> >> finding internships, but lets look for a real
> job.” How insulting! After
> >> I
> >> just told her I looked and few entry level jobs
> there and to put down an
> >> internship where my foot will be in the door in the
> government  that may
> >> lead somewhere is insulting.
> >>
> >> Have anyone of you worked with or  known
> people who worked with job
> >> placement specialists?  This counselor wants
> to refer me
> >> to one. I am skeptical he can help me unless he
> actually takes me out to
> >> go
> >> in person to employers, its called cold calls. I
> asked her what he’d do
> >> for
> >> me and she was real vague.
> >> “He’ll send you job leads.” she said.
> She said something about job
> >> announcements.
> >>
> >> I’ll get more info in the meeting. But I just am
> not sure I should work
> >> with
> >> him. I mean it sounds on the surface like a waste
> of time.  I’d rather
> >> have
> >> vr work with me on things like a good cover letter,
> interview skills,
> >> professional dos and don’ts, stuff like that. So,
> I’m wondering if any of
> >> you had this service and how it went.
> >>
> >> Ashley
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >>
> >
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