Bridge to Work Program Means Jobs for Blind Veterans

Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind Launches Bridge to Work™ Program for Veterans Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

by: Jocelyn Hunter, Manager of Community Development, Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind

Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind (CLB) recently hosted a press conference in collaboration with Montgomery County, Maryland, to announce its Bridge to Work™ program. Bridge to Work™ was developed after CLB received a grant from Maryland’s Department of Labor, in response to CLB’s proposal for a “Workforce Development Program for Visually Impaired and Blind Veterans in BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure)-Impacted Regions in Maryland.”

The Bridge to Work™ program recruits veterans who have served our country and are now blind or visually impaired, but ready and willing to work. The program provides job training for future reentry into the workforce.

In the initial stages of the program, job training will focus on skills in document imaging, which will support the federal government’s green initiatives to reduce the use of paper. As the program evolves with additional state and local government support, veterans will have job training opportunities in other career areas.

For more information about Bridge to Work™, contact Jocelyn Hunter at 202-454-6422 or jhunter@clb.org.

Nominations for 2010 Employee of the Year Awards: Deadline Extended to January 4

Kathy Gallagher, Senior Human Resources Employment Specialist, NIB

Attention NIB Associated Agency Directors: The deadline to nominate agency employees for NIB’s two major employee recognition awards, the Peter J. Salmon Direct Labor Employee of the Year Award and the Milton J. Samuelson Career Achievement Award, has been extended to Monday, January 4, 2010.

Each agency may nominate one employee for each of the two awards. The award winners will be selected by an NIB and NAEPB Selection Committee. All nominees will be recognized at the 2010 NIB Annual Training Conference in October 2010 and the two award winners will receive their awards at the conference.

To read the detailed criteria for each of these prestigious awards, please click on the links below. For each nominee, you must submit a Nomination Form, a one-page narrative, an Eye Medical Information Form completed and signed by a licensed medical examiner, and a Release Form signed by each nominee. The Release Form is a waiver of restrictions on the materials your nominee provides so that NIB can promote and publicize the awards. Click on the links below to access the forms. The forms are also posted on the NIB Associated Agency Bulletin Board (password protected) under “Award Nomination Forms.”

For details about the Peter J. Salmon Direct Labor Employee of the Year Award and application materials contact: Kathy Gallagher, Senior Human Resources Employment Specialist, NIB

Diversity Executive Magazine: Americans Say Employ Those With Disabilities

by: Kellye Whitney, 11-16-2009 (used with permission)

A new survey released by National Industries for the Blind (NIB) reports that more than 9 out of every 10 Americans believe the government should support programs creating employment opportunities for people who are blind or have other significant disabilities.

Yet figures also show that more than 60 percent of people who are blind or have other significant disabilities are not employed.

Kevin Lynch, president and CEO of National Industries for the Blind, said he isn’t surprised there is an open attitude regarding people with disabilities or people who are blind. But he said diversity executives and other leaders with the power to influence hiring decisions must be willing to make the initial, relatively minimal, investment necessary to accommodate those who are blind or have visual impairments or other disabilities.

“This is an investment that has a great return,” he explained. “[NIB has] a dedicated workforce of individuals that on a daily basis are out to prove that they are capable and able to do what anyone can do. Certainly technology these days has leveled the playing field particularly for individuals who are blind, and they don’t want anyone to be able to utilize the fact that they may have a visual impairment or be blind as an excuse for their not being able to perform.”

Read the entire story in Diversity Executive Magazine online at http://www.diversity-executive.com/article.php?article=776

Find out about NIB's "Business Leaders Program" at offers business training at four levels for people who are blind at www.nib.org.

LOUISIANA ASSOCIATION FOR THE BLIND PROVIDES SAFETY WALK MATERIAL FOR USS NEW YORK

LOUISIANA ASSOCIATION FOR THE BLIND
1750 Claiborne Avenue
Shreveport, LA 71103
Heather Broussard - Community Relations and Government Affairs
Business: 318-635-6471

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Shreveport, LA Oct. 30, 2009 – The Louisiana Association for the Blind (LAB) today announced it has supplied the more than 10,000 square feet of SKILCRAFT ®/3M Safety Walk TM Slip Resistant Material for the USS New York (LPD 21), an amphibious transport dock ship built and delivered by Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding – Gulf Coast’s Avondale shipyard. Through the Ability One Program, LAB is able to provide quality employment to the visually impaired and currently employs 125 people, 42 of those who are blind. LAB’s Safety Walk TM Department, which consists of six blind and three sighted employees, has played a significant role in manufacturing and supplying the Safety Walk TM material for the ship.

While working on the LPD 21 project, LAB’s Safety Walk TM division performed various operations that include the AutoCAD TM designing aspect, cutting the peel and stick material and packaging of the product. Willie Marie Chapman, one of the employees involved with the project commented, “It is an honor to have been involved with making the kits for the USS New York and I am thankful for the opportunities that LAB provides to me and other visually impaired individuals.”

“LAB has supplied slip resistant materials to the U.S. Navy since 1988, but we’re especially excited we were given the opportunity to provide materials for such an historic and memorable ship,” said Shelly Taylor, President and Chief Executive Officer, Louisiana Association for the Blind.

There are a total of 65 compartments on the ship where the Safety Walk TM material will be placed to date and LAB will work on additional compartments in the weeks leading up to the commissioning date. LAB employees converted bulk Safety-Walk material into 1,440 made-to-order pieces, ranging in size from slightly more than three square feet to over 500 square feet. These custom pieces were then applied to surfaces throughout the ship to help improve traction.

Taylor added, “LAB is an authorized distributor and converter of 3M Traction Systems for the Federal government and offers a variety of anti-slip and safety matting materials in rolls, cut sizes and custom kits. Nine LAB employees were involved with this project and performed operations that included design, cutting the material and packaging the product.”

The USS New York (LPD 21), named in honor of victims of the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center, has seven and a half tons of steel recovered from the twin towers welded into her bow. This is the sixth ship of the U.S. Navy to be named after the state of New York. USS New York, is designed to deliver a troop of 700 Marines.

During the construction process of the ship 24 tons of steel were used and came from the rubble from the World Trade Center. This steel was melted down at Amite Foundry and Machine in Amite, Louisiana to cast the ship's bow section. It was poured into the molds on September 9, 2003. LPD 21 was built and delivered by Avondale, which is located on the banks of the Mississippi River in the greater New Orleans area. Avondale has direct access to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River and is easily accessed by the nation's interstate highway system and by rail.

USS New York's commissioning ceremony is scheduled to occur on November 7, 2009 in New York City. Commissioning is the ceremony in which New York will become a unit of the operating forces of the United States Navy. It is the occasion when the ship will "Come Alive" and officially becomes USS New York.

About LAB
LAB is a private, non-profit organization that provides quality employment, rehabilitation, vocational training, and recreational activities to individuals who are blind and visually impaired in Louisiana and the surrounding areas. Established in April 1927, LAB has two facilities in Shreveport where paper products such as writing tablets, index cards, and copy paper and anti-slip traction material are manufactured. LAB is an associated agency of the National Industries for the Blind.

Rep Nick Rahall Encourages Access to Employment For People With Disabilities

The more people know about the capabilities of people with disabilities to work and lead independent lives, the more we can shatter stereotypes and misperceptions. However, there is more that needs to be done to spread the awareness that hiring people with disabilities is good for businesses in West Virginia. For example, seven out of ten working age Americans who are blind are not employed.

I know employers can make a difference. Two years ago, one of my staff employees became disabled after a fall in his home injured his spinal cord. He's now back at work and continues on the road to recovery with the help of accommodations I'm pleased to say the House of Representatives made for him at my request. From help getting his transportation past security checkpoints to getting his wheelchair into the office, from designing his workstation to accommodating his workout routine, the House answered my requests affirmatively. This month he was recognized by his state vocational rehabilitation program for his accomplishment of returning to work.

All of us face battles -- many of us face more than our fair share. Today serves as a reminder of that truth. It is a truth we as a society must respect and must work to make right so that people who are willing to work hard are able to do so.

There is more than abundant evidence here that despite all odds against it, the human spirit is a difficult, if not impossible, flame to snuff out. The courage of disabled Americans is contagious and their successes empower all of us to be better individuals, better community members, and better Americans.

Please join me in supporting them through recognizing October as the National Disability Employment Awareness Month and encouraging our communities to give disabled Americans fair access to employment.

Read Rep. Rahall's full statement online at http://www.rahall.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=11&parentid=5§iontree=5,11&itemid=1318

Contact:
Kate Denman
Legislative Assistant
Office of Congressman Nick J. Rahall, II
2307 RHOB
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-3452
(202) 225-9061 (fax)

Federal Workers Play Strong Role to Help Increase Job Opportunities

Survey Shows Wide Acceptance for Capabilities of People Blind, Severely Disabled, Despite 60 Percent Unemployed

ARLINGTON, VA (October 22, 2009) — As part of October’s National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the AbilityOne Program’s central nonprofit agencies are releasing survey results that demonstrate Americans have an overwhelming acceptance of the work capabilities of people who are blind or have other significant disabilities. The survey findings also reveal that more than 9 out of every 10 Americans believe the government should support employment opportunities for people who are blind or have other significant disabilities through programs like the federal AbilityOne Program.

This strong support of people who are blind or have other significant disabilities is an important part of the efforts to reduce the unemployment rate of people with disabilities, which hovers above 60 percent.

The national survey, conducted by Greenfield Online®, polled 1,000 Americans, 18 to 55+ years of age, regarding their attitudes and views on the capabilities of people who are blind or have other significant disabilities to create quality products and services. Results show:

• Broad acceptances among Americans that people who are blind or have other significant disabilities are capable of producing quality products and services. A majority of people surveyed (78%) said they were comfortable with the ability of people who are blind or have other significant disabilities to make quality products and services for the government and armed forces. Additionally, 8 out of 10 people surveyed (80%) said they were comfortable with the government and armed forces purchasing products and/or services made by people who are blind or have other significant disabilities.

• Overwhelming belief that the government should support employment opportunities for people who are blind or have other significant disabilities. Almost all of the survey respondents (92%) say it is important for the government and armed forces to support the AbilityOne Program.

“The AbilityOne Program is the largest source of employment for people who are blind or have other significant disabilities” said Robert Chamberlin, President and CEO of NISH – Creating Employment Opportunities for People With Significant Disabilities.

Products for purchase from AbilityOne include: military uniforms, TSA gloves, airplane parts, office and computer supplies as well as environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies. Services include call center management, contract administration, fleet management, laundry services, as well as warehouse, shipping.

"Federal employees should feel incredibly empowered that they are helping to reduce unemployment for people who are blind or have other severe disabilities by purchasing AbilityOne products and services. With every purchase of AbilityOne products and services, federal procurement officers literally create and sustain more jobs for this underutilized, but highly qualified workforce," Kevin Lynch, President and CEO, National Industries for the Blind said.

The AbilityOne Program is supported by the National Industries for the Blind and NISH, both organizations work with more than 600 nonprofit agencies to provide employment for people who are blind or have other significant disabilities. These agencies sell products on through the federal procurement process to 40 government agencies, the U.S. military; and, to military personnel through 133 base supply centers. In Fiscal Year 2008 alone, $2.3 billion of products and services purchased by the Federal Government were made by people who were blind or have other significant disabilities by way of the AbilityOne Program.

In an effort to educate the American public about issues related to disability and employment, Congress designated each October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM).

About the AbilityOne Program
Providing employment opportunities to more than 40,000 people, the AbilityOne Program is the largest single source of employment for people who are blind or have other significant disabilities in the United States. More than 600 participating nonprofit organizations employ these individuals and provide quality goods and services to the federal government at a fair market price. The AbilityOne Program is administered by the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, an independent federal agency, with assistance from National Industries for the Blind (NIB) and NISH-Creating Employment Opportunities for People with Severe Disabilities. For more information, please visit www.abilityone.org.

About NIB
In the United States, seven out of 10 people who are blind are not employed. At National Industries for the Blind (NIB), it is our mission to enhance the opportunities for economic and personal independence of persons who are blind, primarily through creating, sustaining and improving employment. NIB and its associated agencies serve as the largest program responsible for the employment of people who are blind through the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act. For more information regarding how the NIB and NIB-associated agencies continue to provide opportunities to blind Americans, please visit: www.NIB.org.

About NISH
Established in 1974, NISH (http://www.nish.org) is one of two national, nonprofit agencies designated by the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled to support nonprofit agencies (NPAs) participating in the AbilityOne Program. NISH provides employment opportunities for people who are blind or have other severe disabilities by procuring Federal contracts for goods and services. Headquartered in Vienna, Va., NISH supports a network of more than 2,100 NPAs as well as Federal customers by providing legislative and regulatory assistance, communications and public relations materials, information technology

Senate Majority Leader Recognizes NDEAM in Congressional Record Statement

NATIONAL DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH -- (Senate - October 01, 2009)
[Page: S10054] Read the statement in the Congressional Record.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today in recognition of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. This annual observance is an opportunity for us to celebrate the achievements of people with disabilities, whose contributions to the workforce have strengthened our Nation. During the month of October, we pay tribute to these men and women while renewing our commitment to ensuring opportunity and inclusion for all Americans--regardless of their ability or disability.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month originated in 1945 when Congress designated a week in October as a time to educate the public about the employment issues facing people with disabilities. Eventually expanded to the entire month of October, the observance has become a valuable tool to enhance the American people's understanding of these issues. It is also an important opportunity to mark the progress we have made and the steps forward yet to be taken.

Today, more people with disabilities than ever are graduating from school, participating in their communities, and succeeding in the labor market. For the tens of millions living in the United States with a disability , realizing the American dream is a real possibility that often did not exist a generation ago. I am especially heartened by the growing recognition that tapping these individuals' talent, character, and hard work is as important to the Nation's future as it is to theirs.

At the same time, we must acknowledge the sobering reality that faces too many people with disabilities, including our brave service members and veterans returning from war with severe injuries and conditions. While people with disabilities have long experienced far higher unemployment rates, they are also particularly hard hit by the current economic downturn. Physical, financial, and social barriers to employment remain, as well as the discrimination and prejudice that keep some from competing in the American economy on equal footing as everyone else. Moreover, many individuals with disabilities struggle to afford good, continuous health coverage, a hardship given their intensive health care needs.

Clearly, we have much work ahead of us in order to fulfill the promise of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. I am pleased that Congress is continuing to work toward this priority, most recently with the enactment of the ADA Amendments Act and the Higher Education Opportunity Act. On behalf of all Nevadans, I look forward to building on these successes in the 111th Congress.