[Nfbmo] Barriers to Employment

[Rita A Lynch]

Very well said, Debbie!

I hope that we can hear from more blind persons who find themselves 
unemployed, as a part of that 70% and what barriers you are encountering. We 
really do want to help overcome.

Rita


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Debbie Wunder" <debbiewunder at centurytel.net>
To: "nfbmo list" <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, October 06, 2012 6:45 PM
Subject: [Nfbmo] Barriers to Employment


>
> Barriers to Employment
>
>
>
> Matt Siebert and Gary Wunder did such a great job on this subject; I am 
> not sure what there is to add. I think possibly there are a few issues 
> that start erecting this barrier before blind people reach working age.
>
>
>
> Many children grow up in such protected environments that I believe some 
> confidence is snuffed out early on. When doling out family chores, often 
> the blind child is requested to do the most simple things: tasks that are 
> not age appropriate, or worse, we are asked to do no chores at all.
>
>
>
> Early on I have witnessed the public school or the parent having fewer 
> expectations of a child with some partial vision, fearing they will put 
> too much physical stress on their eyes, necks, and backs. Soon the bar for 
> success is even lowered in the Child's vision.
>
>
>
> When I was fifteen, I applied for a summer job at the Saint Louis Zoo. I 
> was told I would need better vision in order to give guests any directions 
> to other zoo locations. This was the first discrimination that I myself 
> recognized. I was devastated; no one had ever told my older brother Joe he 
> could not work. Although my family thought this was ridiculous, no one 
> really knew how to help me confront this problem or to understand it.
>
>
>
> When I became a licensed vendor, I made a point of hiring a student to 
> work for me; this was his first summer job. As blind people we start off 
> early with different expectations from others and soon learn to accept and 
> worse yet expect that it is ok to do nothing. So many blind students going 
> through college do not ever have to worry about their book costs, tuition, 
> room and board, because the state agency is there to pay their way. Again 
> an attitude of deserving or, if you will, entitlement takes over. We are 
> promised something; our parents, other family members, and friends have 
> paid taxes for it; it is the law that we can take it; and, besides, isn't 
> it just the next logical step-more schooling. But do we really consider 
> the cost? My youngest daughter will start college in the fall; no one will 
> pay for her books, her tuition, or supply her with a notetaker, a laptop, 
> or an e-reader. Gary and I will take out loans. Abbey will be forced to 
> take out loans. By the time she has a college degree, she will likely owe 
> the cost of a new car, and goodness knows how much Gary and I will have to 
> repay as we consider what are to be our golden years. The cost of the 
> educations given to blind people now exceed $60,000, not counting the 
> blindness technology we need to be successful. That kind of commitment, 
> that belief in us, deserves a real effort on our part. I support what 
> blind people get from rehabilitation; we deserve the right to be 
> productive and contributing adults, but many of us don't seem to make good 
> on the substantial investment our taxpayers have made in us.
>
>
>
> Matt put it so very well. Blind young adults, in many situations, are 
> afraid and stifled in reaching success. They have never been expected to 
> earn their own way. As much as social security, blind pension, and other 
> forms of needed public assistance  is a cushion and a protection against 
> being a burden to family, it is a jailer. As Matt says, it keeps you from 
> having to count your change, stifles your willingness to worth for minimum 
> wage, and makes it easy to rationalize and accept responsibility for 
> moving forward. Yes, you will pay more for your transportation and it will 
> be less convenient than for the person with a car in his driveway. You 
> will have to work harder to be punctual, and sometimes you will be 
> disappointed and will disappoint others when your plans are spoiled by the 
> late cab or the late bus.
>
>
>
> One speaker on employment at our national convention (I think he works in 
> Texas) said that one's first job is important-not because it is the kind 
> of job you want--but because it is the job that will lead to your second, 
> your third, and eventually to the job you want.
>
>
>
> Many of us have been willing to live at a place in life where we expect 
> nothing of ourselves and learn to live this way. Gary likes to jokingly 
> say that, when he is least busy, he gets up in the morning with nothing to 
> do, and at the end of the day he only gets it half done. It was funny the 
> first time he said it, but, like most of his jokes, he tells it too many 
> times. There is some truth in many things that are funny, and I think what 
> people say about giving something you really want done to the busiest 
> person is unfortunately true.
>
>
>
> In saying all of this I am not trying to knock where so many people are, 
> but I want to be honest and help to figure out a way to inspire, push, 
> support, and build a hunger for confidence and success in our group of 
> good and gentle people. I know what a job can mean in terms of 
> self-esteem, how much it can raise the household income, and what it means 
> to start each day with something important to do. I also know the sadness 
> that comes when you realize you are trying to figure out just what your 
> role is in life, the thing that brings importance because of what your 
> effort means to others. I know what it means to do things all day and to 
> feel like you have started 10 things and not successfully finished one. I 
> want us to help blind people to find our way out of this trap; I hope this 
> piece contributes to our discussion.
>
>
>
> Debbie
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