In this section, we publish letters sent to us here at AccessWorld. If you would like to submit a letter, you can do so by activating the "Comment on this Article" link at the bottom of each article, or send an email to the Editor, Aaron Preece, directly at apreece@afb.org.
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This message is in response to the October 2021 Editor's Page
I am 73 and was employed in very difficult times. I was a social worker and had to go where no one wanted to live just to work. With no public transportation and no paratransit, life was challenging.
When I worked as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, I found many people unwilling to risk moving to an unfamiliar place.
I also think that SSI can be a disincentive. If your subsidized apartment is $75 and you receive $625, it's all a matter of scale. It is hard to risk failure.
I was the lucky recipient of affirmative action. Even so, I found I had to put in three times the amount of effort to get the job done. Before computers, I had to work after closing, dictating information that a reader would put on a form.
When Ceta ended, I asked the agency to pay for reading. I had to go to the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission about this and the agency administration made my life miserable. I ended up changing jobs.
I worry about people receiving services from TVIs only once a week. I went to a resource room and then out to regular classes for six years. When I went to Holy Names Academy in 1960, I had all of my Braille and typing skills. I was fortunate enough to have a mother who learned Braille and did a lot of brailling for me.
Belief in oneself is critical but so are good orientation and mobility skills as well as a solid education. We have to be twice as competent to get a whack at the ball. Although I believe attitudes are improving, obtaining competitive employment continues to be a real challenge.
Happy Holidays,
Alco
This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.
