Employment is a difficult subject in the Ds community. It is a reason for advocacy but it is also a source for heated, emotional debate within the community.
Category Archives: Sheltered Workshops
News: Illinois Workshop Looses Wage Certificate
Headline out of northwest Illinois :
Self Help: We’re moving forward
Agency responds to Dept. of Labor actions, says its focused on compliance and keeping its doors open
Continue reading News: Illinois Workshop Looses Wage Certificate
The Workshop Debate
One of the biggest debates in our community focuses on what we call “sheltered workshops.” Today we’ll talk about the pro’s and con’s and what the future may look like.
Continue reading The Workshop Debate
Missouri Families and Lawmakers Fight to Save Sheltered Workshops
A new Missouri state resolution reaffirms the state’s support of sheltered workshops after disabled people and their families band together to “protect the right to choose sheltered employment as a valuable work choice.”
Continue reading Missouri Families and Lawmakers Fight to Save Sheltered Workshops
Marcus talks about jobs, old and next
*originally posted 5/15/14 by Grown Ups & Downs
After graduation Marcus had a job with the family business. When that opportunity changed, we discovered the labyrinth that is vocational services. Having not yet conquered that beast – we are still looking for the best…options. Here are Marcus’ thoughts on work and jobs ->
Why Success in Vermont May Not Translate to Other States
An article about Vermont’s closing sheltered workshops has been making the rounds in social media lately. It’s a very well written piece – but one that has an obvious agenda: Make people believe that Vermont provides proof that sheltered workshops should be eliminated everywhere.
While I applaud the author for addressing the topic, I have a problem with how it can be (and apparently is being) misconstrued.
Continue reading Why Success in Vermont May Not Translate to Other States
Sheltered Workshops and Light Reading
Hello Friends,
A few days ago President Obama signed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. If you’re interested in a PDF of the bill summary, just let me know and I’ll shoot you a copy.
I wrote a brief post here on The Road We’ve Shared about a month ago about Sheltered Workshops and it can be found here.
A few days ago President Obama signed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. If you’re interested in a PDF of the bill summary, just let me know and I’ll shoot you a copy.
I wrote a brief post here on The Road We’ve Shared about a month ago about Sheltered Workshops and it can be found here.
This week I posted a more complete rant, as I lovingly call it, in three parts.
1) Why Sheltered Workshops Work?
2) What Forces People Into Sheltered Workshops?
3) What is the Answer to the Sheltered Workshop Question?
Well, that’s enough light reading for today J Please do keep us at The Road in the loop of what you know and learn and also please share any way/where you think we should be adding a voice.
And remember that all points of view are respected and valued here on The Road.
I guess it’s time for me jump into the sheltered workshops discussion
Ok – so I’m late to the party. I know. I’ve been watching and chewing and watching and reading and frankly I’m overwhelmed by
1) The conflicting output of regulations from state to state to federal to state
2) The many overgeneralizations about both workshops and the clients who choose this option
3) The lack of compassion for those who actually appreciate the role of
sheltered workshops
4) The lack of communication with those most vulnerable and
5) My own insignificance.
The mandates begun from state to state are similar, but not the same. In my home state of Nebraska, change is still pulsing under the current and as yet has not crashed upon us. However, now that the federal government is involved, change is more than an undercurrent.
Continue reading I guess it’s time for me jump into the sheltered workshops discussion
Perceptions – Sheltered Workshops
How do you view yourself? 
What do you think other peoples’ perception of you is?
You are an important person, the result of a complex mixture of characteristics that combine to form your personality. You have both positive and negative qualities – strengths and weaknesses – as well as personal likes and dislikes. This makes you totally unique and different from everyone else. You belong to the human family and yet you are an individual. You defy simple descriptions and labels because you are more than just a “type of person”. Each of us is convinced of our own worth. We each believe that the world would be changed forever if we were not present, and that is certainly true. We all play our respective roles in life, and without us things could not possibly be the same. These are the perceptions we embrace concerning our own lives.
Remembering Willowbrook
By Stephanie Holland
A recent article, Forgetting not an option: Horrors at Willowbrook State School remembered at annual CSI lecture caught my eye for two reasons:
- It brought back memories from when I first heard about the beginnings of deinstitutionalization, and
- I’ve recently been writing about how I see the similarities between deinstitutionalization and the affect that the Rhode Island decision will have on sheltered workshops.
I feel physically ill
I first heard the name Willobrook as a graduate student in the Disability Studies program at Syracuse University. During a course taught by Steven J. Taylor, we looked at disability in different media. It was a tremendous course, taught by a very skilled professor, researcher, and community advocate. Thinking back on it, I remember my own poor performance as a student. It was one of my worst. Watching this video makes the emotional and physical reactions I had to the content come rushing back. I’m completely aware of WHY I couldn’t bring my A game to this course. (Trigger warning: This video is painful to watch for anyone, but parents of children with an intellectual disability will find it almost unbearable.)