News
Man with a disability succeeds at work, will give thousands to charities that gave him job, friends
Jonah Selber
Philadelphia, PA – Jonah Selber, who was born with a developmental disability, is a longtime, successful employee of Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals where he serves as an office assistant in the Information Systems Department. He loves his job and never takes it for granted. Unlike 70% of working age Americans with disabilities who are out of the workforce, Jonah has been working for 17 years delivering important business documents and greeting customers in the Information Systems service center at one of the nation’s top hospitals. [continue reading…]
America at risk
New Toolkit for Policy Makers/Leaders Released Along with Poll/Focus Group Research Report:
America at Risk: Job Crisis for People with Disabilities – Views on Solutions from 3839 People on the Front Lines
Washington, DC. RespectAbilityUSA, a non-profit organization working to empower people with disabilities to achieve the American dream, is proud to release a new toolkit for policy makers, leaders and activists along with a formal report, “America at Risk: Job Crisis for People with Disabilities — Views on Solutions from 3839 People on the Front Lines.” The toolkit and report are designed those who want to expand job opportunities for people with disabilities based on the real-life experiences and opinions of those most impacted by the crisis of lack of jobs for people with disabilities in America. This issue is important because:
KC killing was an attack on us all
Yesterday, in a horrible hate crime, a man yelled “Heil Hitler” at the Jewish Community Center in Kansas City and then murdered three innocent people because he saw them as “the other”. My prayers are with the victims and their families.
Hitler didn’t “just” kill Jews — he was a mass murderer who also killed people with disabilities and others right along side Jews. It was Hitler’s way of creating a master Aryan race. So when someone yells “Heil Hitler” and then kills innocent people – the hater has embraced a philosophy that sees Jews, people with disabilities and others as worthy of elimination.
Fortunately, in America today people don’t go hunting people with disabilities dead like what happened in KC. But according to the FBI, last year the number of hate crimes reported against people with disabilities doubled.
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RespectAbilityUSA Releases Toolkit for Job Seekers with Disabilities
Washington, D.C. – RespectAbilityUSA, a non-profit organization working to empower people with disabilities to achieve the American dream, is proud to release a toolkit for job seekers with disabilities.
Unlike employment outcomes for women, African Americans and Hispanics, which have been improving over time, the gap between employment rates of those with and without disabilities has expanded significantly. [continue reading…]
With Social Security Disability Trust Fund Due to Bankrupt in 2016, RespectAbilityUSA Releases Toolkit for Policy Leaders on Employment for People with Disabilities
Washington, D.C. – RespectAbilityUSA, a non-profit organization working to empower people with disabilities to achieve the American dream, is proud to release a toolkit for policy leaders on employment for people with disabilities. The toolkit is important because:
United Nations Partners with ABILITY to Raise Awareness
ABILITY Awareness, in conjunction with the United Nations’ Department of Public Information hosted a panel discussion: The Art of Engagement.
The event will take place on Friday July 19th as part of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The panel is described as, an entertaining approach to building awareness through music, theater, humor and various visual arts stimulates attention to an otherwise resistant society: http://www.abilitymagazine.com/UN-ABILITY.html.
TJ Lavin PSA
Action Sports Star/Host of The Challenge TJ Lavin Stars in New PSA on disability: “We all should have the same opportunity to achieve the American dream.”
Washington, D.C. – With fully 70 percent of working-age Americans with disabilities outside the workforce, BMX bike legend and host of MTV’s The Challenge, T.J. Lavin, is starring in a new public service ad where he says, “whether it is me, you, or someone who just wants to work — we all should have the same opportunity to achieve the American dream.”
NGA Meeting: Governors making key progress on jobs for people with disabilities
Governors Making Dramatic Changes to Expand Employment for People with Disabilities (PwDs)
Disability Leaders to Meet With Governors To Discuss Employment For People With Disabilities
Washington, D.C. – As the National Governor’s Association (NGA) begins its meeting in Washington, many of the nation’s governors are making dramatic, positive changes to expand job opportunities and avenues for success for people with disabilities. The changes are an outgrowth of the NGA Chairs’ Initiative, “A Better Bottom Line: Employing People with Disabilities” led by previous NGA Chairman, Gov. Jack Markell (DE). The initiative created a blueprint that identified best practices and outlined steps that can be put in place by businesses and states to increase employment of people with disabilities.