By Evan Semones and Carys Edwards
Raleigh, N.C. – Judy Moore sits, smiling, behind the desk at the Raleigh Lions Clinic for the Blind wearing a brightly colored hair bow. She’s a charming receptionist, a devoted mother and lives with a diagnosis of Retinitis Pigmentosa.
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By Tegan Johnson
More than 25 years after the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act passed, the people who were to benefit from the bill are finding that now is a challenging times to find work.
As of February 2016, North Carolina’s unemployment rate sat at 5.5 percent, but disabled individuals in the state face a much higher rate, at almost nine percent. Moore considers herself lucky to be employed.
Moore gradually began to lose her sight during her time in college. She described the moment when she lost her light perception in 2010 as “traumatic.”
“Before that I could see people and light and shapes. Now, I can’t tell if its midday or midnight,” she said.
Moore has been employed at RLCB since 1984 and believes having a job is important for her and other people with disabilities, “Employment is a social life too, if they didn’t have their job they would be home all day, they don’t have another outlet.”
An American Institutes for Research study about disability unemployment entitled “One Size Does Not Fit All,” found that since the Great Recession, employment numbers for this demographic haven’t bounced back at the same rate as for people without disabilities.
Although the United States’ economy has been adding jobs each month and the unemployment rate has been gradually dropping since October 2009 — the current rate is 4.9 percent — unemployment for those with a disability has been steadily increasing.
According to Janet Griffey, president and CEO of RLCB, 75 percent of those who are disabled are unemployed because there’s still a grey area surrounding disabled people. She believes society is uneducated about their abilities; something the nonprofit organization is trying to change.
Griffey said that since the program — which provides jobs and job training for individuals who are visually impaired or blind in the Triangle— started 50 years ago, education for those with a disability has improved 100 percent as they’re now integrated into mainstream schools and have support groups. However, she said society still “doesn’t look at a disabled person and see that they’re no different than we are.”
She added, “Sometimes when I’m traveling with someone who’s blind I can feel the eyes and I think it’s the amazement of how is that person doing that…When I look at an individual, I see an individual.”
The rise in unemployment comes as a greater number of people with disabilities actively seek work, yet fewer find jobs. Griffey said some of her employees at RLCB change buses three times or pay for expensive taxis to arrive at 7:30 a.m. because they’re so excited to have the opportunity to work.
Griffey described Moore as a great employee, “They’re not able to work at a competitive speed but they’re doing the best they could…if I give 100 percent of my ability then compared to someone else, that’s only 30 percent.”
“I try very hard to remember the names of people. People like to hear their name when they come in,” Moore said.
Although Griffey encourages employers to hire disabled people, the unemployment statistics suggest that many are unwilling to. Two-thirds of unemployed respondents with disabilities said they’d like to work but can’t find jobs.
“Each person has their own goals and their own personalities but society doesn’t see it that way and that’s what stops the employer,” Griffey said.
“It’s still a fear amongst a lot of employers that this person has a disability…they should look at them for their ability, not disability, because they’re prime candidates for employment,” she added.
Dipping into these labor pools requires thinking on another level, as Amy Wright, the founder and owner of Beau’s Coffee in Wilmington, discovered.
Beau’s, which opened in February, employs only people with disabilities.
The idea for the new venture came after Wright and her husband wondered what job opportunities would exist for their 11 year-old son, for whom the coffee shop is named.
“It kind of hit me like a lightning bolt,” Wright said. “I have always been advocating for people with intellectual disabilities. The idea of creating a place where they could work as well as bring the community together and let them interact with them just kind of hit me.”
Wright says Beau’s is just like any other coffee shop. The store offers customers specialty drinks, pastries, and, of course, coffee. “The only difference is that we are a coffee shop that is run by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” Wright said.
“The takeaway…is maybe we’ve changed one heart or one mind. We’ve given somebody some new perspective, and maybe they’re a business owner. Maybe they’re going to go back and try to figure out a way that they can integrate someone with a disability into the workforce.”
Since Beau’s opened, six employees have moved on to work in different local businesses, providing more openings for employment at the coffee shop.
For many employers, finding workers who show up on time and have good attitudes are some of the most significant challenges that come with operating a business.
National employment studies, including a 30-year analysis by conglomerate DuPont, show that people with disabilities have equal or higher performance ratings, better retention rates and less absenteeism.
So far, Wright has found this to be true.
“These folks are so grateful for the job. They’re very hard working. They’re reliable. And it makes a real difference,” she said.
“I don’t have to worry about managing my employees; they’re just running the business.”
