[stylist] More on article showing what parents and kids are facing

[Donna Hill]

Bridgit,
I hear you. After college, my VI counsellor got me an interview at a local
sheltered workshop. At first I thought they wanted me to be some sort of
supervisor. Then, I asked what I would be doing. I was told that I'd be
putting erasers on the ends of pencils. I was furious and did not go to the
interview. I couldn't believe that the state, which had paid for my college
education, wanted me to work in a sheltered workshop. And, this was just
after graduation; it wasn't like I'd been looking for a while and couldn't
find anything. To me, it's like saying that not only don't they have any
faith in my abilities, but they were willing to waste taxpayer money on an
education I wouldn't have needed to do the work they had in mind for me.

It took me almost two years to get a job with the state as a wellfare
caseworker. That had its problems, but at least I was making a living.
Donna 

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Bridgit
Pollpeter
Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2013 11:06 PM
To: stylist at nfbnet.org
Subject: [stylist] More on article showing what parents and kids are facing

Donna,

The missing factor is that of that reported 70% unemployed, it includes
children too young for employment and retired seniors not to memention
people who are blind plus some other disability making it less simple to
work. So when you actually just look at blind people who are of working age
and able to work, it is less than 70%. So yes, to a degree, we are
exaggerating, but as you mention, it's still too high a number, and I also
might add, how many are working regular jobs, for lack of a better term, and
how many are working sheltered workshop jobs or something similar. Many
states boast high employment rates among blind graduates of training
centers, but often, many are employed by sheltered workshops or something
akin to a sheltered workshop. Work is work, but we also have to consider how
many blind people are being encouraged and expected to achieve their full
potential, and how many are just deemed well off because they are working
regardless that employers like this expect very little giving blind
employees menial jobs and paying even less. Sorry, someone had to say it.

Bridgit
Message: 1
Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2013 22:07:56 -0500
From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] more on : Article showing what	parents & kids
	arefacing
Message-ID: <4ECC685BBD634B04962D293E130064BB at OwnerHP>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Robert,
I'm confused. Shouldn't we be using the Dept. of Labor's formula for
figuring unemployment? If that's what they use for everyone, and they're
getting a much lower unemployment rate than we've been led to believe ...
Well, it doesn't sound right. I mean, 38% is still terrible and way worse
than the general unemployment numbers, but we've been telling people it's
70%. If we're using a non-standard method of calculating it, aren't we
opening ourselves up to the criticism that we're exaggerating the problem?
What am I missing here? Donna 


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