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October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. “America’s Recovery: Powered by Inclusion” is the theme for #NDEAM 2021. It reflects the importance of ensuring that people with disabilities have access to employment opportunities not only as our nation recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic but always.
In partnership with SourceAmerica, I am pleased to share a resource that could help disabled people who are able and looking for work find employment.
Disclosure: This sponsored post was created as part of SourceAmerica’s and NDEAM celebrations. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation.
What is National Disability Employment Awareness Month?
NDEAM (National Disability Employment Awareness Month) takes place every October. It commemorates the contributions that the disabled make to America’s workplaces and economy.
Most importantly, it provides an opportunity to educate companies, government agencies, and other workforces on how they can be more inclusive. It spotlights what has been done while also raising awareness of what more needs to be done.
American Recovery: Powered by Inclusion
As someone who multiple chronic illnesses have disabled, I am painfully aware of how excluding the workforce can be towards the disabled. But if the pandemic taught us anything, it was that many of the accommodations employers told the disabled were not possible were not that difficult to implement after all.
The pandemic showed us that working remotely was possible and practical. For a chronically ill disabled person, working from home could decide whether they can work or not. For some, the commute alone is too painful and exhausting. Inclusion in the workplace may look different for you. But nothing will be done unless we speak up and share what accommodations could make working with our disabilities possible.
Working as a freelance writer and professional blogger, I feel I need to work harder than others to prove myself. Because of how unpredictable chronic illness can be, I work hard to ensure I meet deadlines and provide high-quality content. I sacrifice a lot of social and fun time that people assume freelance writers have (maybe I would if my illnesses weren’t debilitating) to turn my work in on time. I do not allow my flares to interfere with the work I do.
SourceAmerica’s nonprofit network works to match the right person to the right job by creating job opportunities for people with disabilities and raising awareness. They have been employment advocates for the disabled for over 45 years! Some of their success stories include people with chronic illnesses like dystonia and rheumatoid arthritis.
Where Can I Find More Information And Get Involved?
Working or not, there are many things the disabled community can do to shine a light on what is needed to make workplaces more accessible and inclusive. Visit the Department of Labor for detailed information on how you can get involved. There you will find many ideas on how to get employers, educators, state governors, legislators, associations, unions, disability-related organizations, and Federal agencies involved.
If you are a person with a disability looking to find work, a nonprofit in the SourceAmerica network might be the perfect fit for you.
(fill in the blank) would make it possible to work with my #disability. #NDEAM @SourceAmerica
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What could employers do to make it possible for you to work with your disability? Share your answer in the comments. Include hashtags #NDEAM and #SourceAmerica when talking about this subject on social media. And tag @the_disabled_diva on Instagram or @TheDisabledDiva on Facebook and Twitter so I can join your disability employment inclusion discussion!
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Sources:
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/initiatives/ndeam https://www.sourceamerica.org/how-it-works/people-with-disabilities https://www.sourceamerica.org/who-we-are/success-stories