IDJ Team

Employment Tips

By Dena Polston

Growing up as a person with a disability, I always sought to achieve, having the same dreams, goals and aspirations as my sister and other non-disabled individuals. Included amongst those aspirations was the desire to obtain competitive employment.

Unfortunately, the opportunities were somewhat limited when it came to acquiring the skills and experience needed to promote my success later in life. Thus, I had to get creative. To that end, I took advantage of every volunteer opportunity I could find as a teenager.

While attending the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ISBVI), I volunteered as a tutor for elementary school aged children and a childcare provider for preschoolers while their parents attended meetings and other activities. I worked on the ISBVI switchboard during the evenings as well.

While in high school. A friend from ISBVI and I volunteered at Methodist Hospital on Saturdays and were tasked with a variety of assignments. We both put in over 200 hours there. While these volunteer opportunities didn’t necessarily lead to other employment after high school, those jobs gave me opportunities to meet new people and learn about workplace skills.

I was fortunate to find summer jobs in my home community through the Program for Economically Disadvantaged Youth,

and also worked with the Youth Employment Training Program as a receptionist/typist. These opportunities provided a feeling of accomplishment, allowing me to keep pace with other teenagers.

While attending college at Ball State University (BSU), I took advantage of volunteer opportunities both on campus and throughout the community. Some were for college credit and others for the purpose of giving back. I have continued to volunteer throughout my working life as well, holding leadership roles in various organizations. Volunteering may not give you the job of your dreams, however, it provides a means of networking with other people, learning skills related to employment, and adds experiential credit to be included on a resume.

Vocational Rehabilitation agencies help people with disabilities, who are eligible, find and retain employment. (To find out if you are eligible, contact the vocational Rehabilitation agency for your area.)

Below are some additional suggestions that I, as a former Vocational Rehabilitation Services consumer and counselor would offer:

Take An active Role. When attending a meeting with your Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC), to discuss your 504 and/or Individualized education Plan (IEP) be forthcoming and specific in defining your goals so that you can establish a rapport with your counsello
Avail yourself of experiential learning and other opportunities that will assist you in ascertaining your future goals.
Consider becoming involved in a blindness or disability-related consumer organization such as the American council for the blind (ACB), National Federation of the blind (NFB), National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) or the Autism Society of Indiana to name just a few. These groups have mentors, special-interest affiliates for high school and college students and conventions where you can learn a mind-blowing amount of information. There is a plethora of exhibitors who display Adaptive Technology and other items along with many resources.
Get involved with your Disabled Student Services (DSS) support office if you plan to attend college in order to familiarize yourself with services offered on your campus as well as obtaining the necessary accommodations. The accommodations you were offered in high school will not carry over to higher education without determining your specific needs. This is another way in which your VRC can assist you. As one of my former supervisors used to say: “You are the one driving the bus” once you are out of high school. In other words, you have to assert yourself and ask for what you need.
Be honest with your VRC about your doubts and fears; see what accommodations the VRC would recommend and/or take another person with you who has been involved in the VR process to better assist in articulating your needs, hopes and dreams. Please know that VR will do all they can to assist you with necessary training, obtaining and retaining employment; however, you have to participate fully in the process and meet with your VRC as often as needed and required. Remember that your goal(s) may change, or VR may not be able to support your original goal. But keep communicating with your VRC in order for you to understand the reason that your goal may not be supported.
Lastly, if a job coach/employment specialist is needed to assist you in determining your vocational goal, assist you in finding places where you and your coach can evaluate your skills and interests and/or assist you in learning tasks for the job you want, work closely with your job coach just as you would your VRC. Don’t assume that your job coach knows your needs. You are the expert on you. If the job coach is not a good fit for you, talk with your VRC to see if another company and/or coach would be a better fit.

The object is to find a job that you will enjoy and want to keep.

Whether you want to work for the purpose of socialization, just to have a little bit of money in your pocket, for a long-term career, or to make a living wage, involvement in your plan is the key.

Remember, your VRC won’t know what you need unless you participate fully and communicate as needed and required. I wish you much success in your training and/or future employment.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dena Polston

I am Dena Polston who is a 2012 graduate in the Adult & Community Education Master’s program from Ball State University. I worked as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for 6.5 years both in the Muncie and Marion regions.

I am from a small town here in Indiana which is Shirley. But I went to the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually-impaired in Indianapolis where I graduated from high school in 1981.

I enjoy singing, loving my pet Golden Retriever, collecting recipes and reading books. I also enjoy volunteering in my community and sharing resources that may assist people in their daily lives.

This is a picture of Dena Polston and her former service dog Vern. Dena is a white woman with short brown hair, wearing a pastel floral blouse. She smiles broadly as she hugs Vern. Vern is a black lab, wearing a red harness. Their faces are pressed against each other’s.

Dismantling Perfect Survivor Propaganda in the Anti-Trafficking Movement

By Jaimia Mccoy

While we know that human trafficking exists and is prevalent in our society, there is often the misconception of who is most subject to kind of crime against humanity. Disability critical race theory is a coined phrase that envelopes the vulnerabilities that correlate to the tactics that are used within human trafficking. Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) is an intersectional framework that examines the interplay between race and disability. To have a more thorough understanding of what this means, one must take time to evaluate the historical context that contemporarily exists on a national level. In the United States alone, “approximately 15% of the population has a disability. Black/African-American communities have the highest disability prevalence (14%), followed by Non-Hispanic white (11%), Hispanic/Latino (8%), and Asian (5%) populations.” (1) The most discomforting fact that comes from reading these statistics is knowing that this automatically subjects a diversly abled person who identifies as a person of color to human trafficking, interpersonal violence, and criminalization.

It’s more important now more than ever to acknowledge the insidious ways that human trafficking shows up more pervasively in our country. It is entrenched throughout the creation and history of our society. Because of this subjectification, the main beneficiaries of these crimes continue to profit from human trafficking tactics through means of settler colonialism, apartheid, exploitation, sexual abuse, ethnic cleansing, gender-based violence and so much more. Human trafficking defined is a crime that involves forcing, compelling, coercing a person to provide labor or services, or to engage in commercial sex acts. This form of abuse can be so subtle that one has no idea what is happening to them, their loved ones or their belongings. On the opposite side of the paradigm, this abuse can be so brazen that one (or many) are physically restrained from knowing or accessing their human right and their human dignity. Rather than conjuring a history lesson that is a topic in it’s own sphere, in relation, it seems more imminent to discuss the harm done as a result of colonialism. In order to understand how this matters in relation to disability critical race theory, the masses will be prompted to evaluate this myriad of victimizations through an intersectionality lens of understanding. Kimberle Crenshaw, the abolitionist and scholar, coined this term in to 1980s to intentionally focus on the ways identities interplay and how those identities that person embodies further marginalizes them. It shows how inevitably these identities predispose a person to violence on at least one or all -ism sphere(s). It emphasizes how diagnoses are weaponized and criminalized.

To acknowledge that chattel slavery was (and is) a real belief system that formed this country is to understand that it has now been modernized. The most marginalized groups of people are still under these same tactics of oppression. Furthermore, the same systems that claimed runaway enslaved people suffered from a mental disease are now misdiagnosing Americans who identify within the African diaspora with a diverse ability. The same systems that created slave patrol systems are now criminalizing dis-ease and dis-ability. A specific case that can be referenced is that of Cyntoia Brown. Born with a fetal alcohol disorder and subject to sexual abuse at a very young age when she was subsequently diagnosed with conduct disorder, she ran away from home on numerous occasions before meeting her trafficker. (2) One day, she was picked up for sex by a 43 year old man who attempted to rape her. An act of self-defense in fear for her life, resulted in a murder, and she was convicted of murder and robbery at the age of 16. She was sent to adult prison where she spent 15 years before she was finally listened to. While she was given clemency and is now able to repair what was stolen from her, she will remain on parole for another 8 years. She can’t violate her parole or she will be sent back to prison to complete her sentence. This story caught media attention in the midst of her disclosing what happened to her, to people who prioritized listening to her instead of attempting to silence her.

In conclusion, disability critical race theory is a framework that can be used to combat human trafficking by appropriately examining trafficking law. It can be used to evaluate how systems are economically benefitting from the hyper-criminalization of diversely abled people of color. This intersection sheds light on the existing complexities of human trafficking and underscores the need for a holistic approach to supporting our most marginalized communities.

References:

1. Catrone, R.G., Baires, N.A., Martin Loya, M.R. et al. An Intersectional Examination of Disability and Race Models in Behavior-Analytic Practice. Behav. Soc. Iss. 32, 152–181 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42822-022-00116-z

2. Rein, R. (2022). Suffering at the Margins: Applying Disability Critical Race Studies to Trafficking in the United States. Columbia Journal of Gender and Law, 42(2), 183–256. https://doi.org/10.52214/cjgl.v42i2.9065

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jaimia Mccoy

Jiamia McCoy, (she/her/ella), has her BSW and identifies as Black/African American. She is Indiana Legal Services’ anti trafficking social worker, also recognized as a survivor’s advocate, and the first ever in her position based out of Indianapolis. She’s been working with Indiana Legal Services since August 2020 and in the non-profit sector serving survivors of crime for approximately 7 years while she acquired her education in human/social services. She collaboratively works with a team comprised of work rights and survivor rights legal staff – supporting survivors of labor exploitation and human trafficking. Not only is she extremely passionate about anti-racism being prioritized in the anti-trafficking movement and non-profit sector as a whole, she has built curriculums along with conducted robust trainings surrounding the origins and domains of racism in the human trafficking movement. She’s an esteemed survivor educator and consultant on the topics of anti-blackness, decolonization, and anti-oppression. She’s made it a priority in her work to shift the language and perspective to prioritize racial justice and equity within every part of society. Additionally, she’s led as a chair member on multiple state coalitions surrounding anti-trafficking and anti-racism. Outside of ILS, she is a participant in the abolition movement and activist for human & civil rights. She’s also a yoga practitioner, lover of wellness and planting, a mother, and spends most of her time in a book or with family & friends in community.

A Black/African America woman smiling broadly, wearing a back top with a African print with a black jacket. Her braids are pulled back.

The Ableist Lens?

Created by Stacye Robinson

Image Description: A drawing of a woman with short red hair and wearing black glasses. Only her face above the mouth is seen. We don’t see her wheelchair. However, we know she is sitting in a wheelchair because we see a headrest behind her head.

ABOUT THE DRAWING:

This piece done in colored pencil and acrylic ink is loosely based on a photograph. The title The Ableist Lens? is meant to pose the question to the viewer about whether minimizing our wheelchairs or devices truly emphasizes beauty the mouth and eyes of the subject are obscured to show that excluding that part of ourselves by default minimizes us as people.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Stacye Robison

Stacye Robinson lives in Indianapolis. with her husband Ryne and cat Calvin. she is committed to gentle activism in accordance with her Christian faith.

Stacye Robinson is waiting by a bus stop on Mass Ave seated in her black wheelchair in a green bubble coat and black leggings she has short brown hair and brown eyes.

Image Description: Stacye Robinson is waiting by a bus stop on Mass Ave seated in her black wheelchair in a green bubble coat and black leggings she has short brown hair and brown eyes.

Hard Work Support

My name is Arturo Contreras, I am a newly disabled person. Well actually, I have always had a disability, I just never knew. I have recently been diagnosed with ADHD… at 25…

When I was growing up I was always a “smart” kid. I always got good scores on my tests and good grades in class. From kindergarten until I graduated high school I passed all my classes and was a good student. That is if you ignore that D- I got in 4th grade because I did not like my teacher, the constant late assignments throughout my schooling, and the lack of studying outside of class. Nevertheless, I was a great student!

The lessons that my amazing work ethic taught me in my primary schooling helped me flourish in college! During my first semester, those lessons helped me fail my classes. It turns out that all those years as a student did nothing to prepare me to actually study. Why did this happen? Did I forget how to study? Did I stop caring about school? Did I no longer have priorities? Of course not! I was just distracted. I was going out and working a lot, and I had a girlfriend. So I did what all good students do and I removed all distractions from my life, I stopped going out. And right as rain, my semester GPA goes from a 2.1 to a 2.4.

The next semester I tried harder, I had to. How could I be proud of that 0.3 increase? I worked and worked, and I worked so hard that I realized I was working harder but my circumstances were not improving. It’s at this point where we have to ask ourselves as readers “Is this person serious,” or “If I were them I would’ve done this, this, and that,” or my favorite “I feel like this person is just complaining too much and just needs to do the work.” That last statement is what helped me get out of a major depressive episode that had set in and rendered me immobile for a week straight! I was good as new!

Just kidding.

What helped me was a part of my safety net. A close friend, Angel. He had helped me before as a teammate, pushing me to give my workouts my all when I was ready to give up. Now was no different, he was pushing me to get help when I felt my weakest. He helped me go to an emergency therapy session, on campus. He was the one who helped me feel sane at a time when all I felt was pain, confusion, and sadness. This action was what propelled me to take care of my mental health.

Fast forward 6 years, 3 wrong diagnoses, 2 therapists, to finally being diagnosed and recently medicated for ADHD.

Writing this makes me realize that I have been working for 6 years to get “stable” enough to finally be able to “work hard” enough. The “Gifted kid to ADHD overwhelmed Adult” pipeline that has been able to flourish, needs to be studied. For years I did what was expected of me; now, all of a sudden, that wasn’t enough to succeed. I feel like the goalpost has been moved. I didn’t realize that I was working hard so that I could “work hard”.

And it is true, to some degree or another, that I could’ve been in a better state if I had just “worked harder” from the beginning. Working harder in this context usually just meant applying whatever silly little neurotypical strategy that was in fashion. When I reached high school, having SMART goals and a growth mindset was all you needed to succeed in school. Before that, I needed a planner, in college, I was told I needed to find a system that worked for me. At no point did anyone suggest that maybe I had a disability. At no point did anyone tell me that “working harder” could also mean going to therapy, getting evaluated, and understanding your disability. A lot of the better part of these past few years has been exploring how my symptoms affect me and those around me.

As my journey with ADHD unfolds, I’m realizing that the initial steps can be daunting, yet with the right support system, they become more manageable. Cultivating the support of those around me has been crucial in my quest to move forward in life. My family and friends have played a huge role in encouraging me to seek answers and progress. The support that they have shown has been fundamental in how I continue to go forward. My family has taught me that hard work is the basis for anything good in life. It is because of them that I know now that hard work can be reflective. My friends push me to make decisions that challenge me to grow.

I don’t know if I will ever fully understand my disability, much less the failings that allowed me to go undiagnosed for the past 25 years. But I do know that I will always have my support system to back me up. Because of them, I know I am not alone and I have the confidence to keep going forward.

Image Description: Arturo is standing on the left of the picture, in front of a telephone pole with his arms crossed. He is wearing a pink hoodie, jeans, and sunglasses. He has a serious bearded face. To the right, is a plentiful cactus plant. Behind a gas station that reads “kinda tropical”.

ABOUT THE ARTHOR: Arturo Contreras Mejia

Arturo Contreras Mejia is a 25-year-old Mexican Man. He is currently a student at IUPUI studying digital marketing. Arturo is also a part of IDJ as a social media captain (intern). In his free time, Arturo enjoys spending time with his loved ones.

Image Description: Arturo is standing on the left of the picture, in front of a telephone pole with his arms crossed. He is wearing a pink hoodie, jeans, and sunglasses. He has a serious bearded face. To the right, is a plentiful cactus plant. Behind a gas station that reads “kinda tropical”