[nabs-l] Questions About Using Vocational Rehab's Services

[Beth Taurasi]

Hey Kerri,
Please feel free to call me if you want.  I can explain my Rehab 
situation.  Getting a job through Colorado rehab is supposed to 
be good.  However, because of religious factions I was a part of 
for a short tijme, I was evaluated psychologically for wearing a 
veil.  Ok, I was Muslim, and the Rehab counselor sent me to a 
biased psychologist who labeled me as pretending to be Arab.  I 
wasn't.  I'm Caucasian, so he got it all wrong.  He also said 
that my college major was inappropriate.  I wasn't gonna back 
down, but after dropping my third major in college, I collected a 
debt of over $2000.  I can't even go back to school with debt.  I 
can't pay for schools with loans because ... well, you have to 
pay them back.  I am not motivated whatsoever to do well for a 
person myself, but I know the feelings you've gone through.  Hey,
you are welcome to call me.  I will put my number at the bottom 
of this email.  Or you can email me your number off list and I'll 
call you on my cell.  Any things you want to talk about are fine.  
Besides, I think my boyfriend's watching baseball and his Arizona 
baseball team got rain delayed ... major that they're suposed to 
play in Ohio.  It's getting weird.
Anyway, here's my number.
Love,
Beth Taurasi
thebluesisloose at gmail.com (personal email)
720-435-7407 (cell)
 ----- Original Message -----
From: Kerri Kosten via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 22:04:28 -0400
Subject: [nabs-l] Questions About Using Vocational Rehab's 
Services

Hey Everyone:

Since I can't go back to school, I have to find a job or 
something to do.
What is it like using Rehab to help you find a job?
I'm afraid they will just place me into one of those sheltered
workshops doing something simple like for example shredding paper 
or
something like that and then when I want to go back to school my
family and my counselor will say something like "This is your job 
now.
You get paid doing this," or something like that and will mess 
with my
head and they will convince me I can't go back to school or 
anything.
How does using Rehab to help you find a job work?
How do blind people end up in those sheltered workshops, 
particularly
the ones that pay sub-minimum wages that the NFB has been trying 
so
hard to fight?
Does Rehab just place you in a job they want/think you should 
have
just to give you a job?
Does Rehab encourage you to do research and look for jobs on your 
own
or do they just dictate to you which ones they feel you should 
apply
for?
I have to make an appointment with my rehab counselor and I am 
really
really scared. The counselor I have now is one I really respect. 
He is
a former football player, who actually lost his eyesight playing
football for the team/school I am a huge fan of. Because of 
things
that have happened in my past (I won't go into it here, if you 
want to
know more email me off-list) I really look up to, and respect 
males
like my counselor who are really really into sports. Ever since I 
got
this counselor back in 2011, I have always tried to do my best 
for
him. Even though I was absolutely scared to death about going to
training at LCB, I pushed myself because I wanted to do well for 
him
and for him to see me as a motivated individual. After completing
training, when I would speak to him on the phone, he was always 
so
proud of me. He really thinks I am this motivated individual.
Now, the problem is I'm really not like that. I tried going back 
to
school last semester and unintentionally failed out. My counselor 
does
not know this yet, and when I have this meeting I will have to 
tell
him. I myself am very ashamed and embarrassed about what happened 
in
school, and don't really like talking about it with anyone,
particularly those I really look up to such as him.
I also really know nothing when it comes to just getting a random 
job
when you have no college degree. I'm not sure what I as a blind 
person
I could realistically do. This again really embarrasses me, 
because I
want my counselor to see me as confident, independent, and 
motivated.
Would it be best to maybe apply for a couple of jobs before I go 
into
the meeting so I can tell my counselor I have done a couple of 
things
on my own first? I could apply to our grocery store, or maybe 
Walmart
might be looking for a greeter or something like that...
I am just so so afraid I am going into this and will end up 
totally
depending on Rehab for everything and I don't want to do that.
Because of my lack of knologe of what I want to do and such, I'm
afraid my counselor is just going to place me in some kind of
sheltered workshop or something like that and since I can't go 
back to
school for a year, I will get comfortable in said job and then 
when I
want to go back to school or something everyone will convince me
otherwise.
I guess I just don't want my counselor realizing how much I have
slipped since coming back from training. He spent a lot of money 
to
send me to training, and I want to be confident and such the way 
we
were taught at training. But, I'm really really afraid as the 
meeting
progresses he will see through me and figure things out. I just 
really
struggle horribly with self-esteem issues, and when someone says 
to me
"I am so proud of you I sent you to training and now your setting 
the
world on fire," that makes me feel so good and I really want to
continue to do well for that person.
Any answers/experiences regarding rehab and your counselor you 
could
share would be great!
Thanks,
Kerri

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