United Way recognizes community organizations helping others during National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Lise Pace was working for a credit union when she began losing her vision.
It was the mid-1990s, and Pace's employer worried she might get hurt at work. The employer suggested she leave to raise her son, Pace said.
She did.
Pace said she’s always been career-driven, wired to work. As she stayed home, she became more isolated and began to lose herself.
Pace’s parents had encouraged her to volunteer when she was a child, so she decided to research volunteer opportunities, thinking it could help her.
That’s when a simple Google search led her to Bosma, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit that provides programs and jobs for people who are blind or visually impaired.
She toured Bosma's facility, where she was exposed to 100 people who were blind – working and living their lives.
“It was the perspective I needed … to reclaim my career,” Pace said.
Pace volunteered for Bosma and within a year was running its volunteer program.
Today, she’s vice president of external affairs for Bosma Enterprises.
Pace said some of the difficult times she faced may have been easier had she known about Bosma and its services. In her current role, she makes it her mission to ensure no other family experiences that.
This October – National Disability Employment Awareness Month – United Way of Central Indiana is recognizing Bosma and five other community organizations that assist those with disabilities.
As businesses continue to discuss diversity, equity and inclusion, Pace said it’s important to include people with disabilities, as they’re often forgotten.
“Let’s start talking about how we can engage in conversation,” she said.
Here’s a look at six Central Indiana nonprofits and how you can get involved:
The Arc of Greater Boone County
Areas served: Boone, Hamilton, Hendricks and Marion counties
The Arc of Greater Boone County currently supports 44 people in looking for – and maintaining – competitive employment and helps 75 students in planning their future careers.
Executive Director Pam Verbarg said the organization welcomes the opportunity to talk with employers about the benefits of hiring people with disabilities and creative ways to meet the needs of both employers and employees.
“Too many times we limit the opportunities for people with disabilities due to assumptions we make about the person. The key for employers is truly to get to know the individual person and what he/she needs to be most successful,” Verbarg said. “... When given the right tools and supports, people will be able to far outperform any expectations.”
How you can help: The Arc is looking for volunteers for projects including deep cleaning, painting, landscaping and gathering satisfaction surveys. The organization needs art supplies – canvas, acrylic paints, Cricut Infusible Ink and Infusible Ink Blanks – for its Artisan program. Donations of pots and pans, utensils, mixing bowls, markers and adult-appropriate puzzles are being accepted for the day programs and life-skills training. The Arc also is looking for additional board members.
Bosma Enterprises
Nationally, there is a 70% unemployment rate for people who are blind or visually impaired. In Indiana, that number is at 57%, according to Bosma.
A significant barrier to employment: misperceptions about what people with vision loss can and cannot do.
Another employment roadblock: access to transportation, particularly in rural areas that lack public transit.
Pace, Bosma’s vice president of external affairs, said there are very few jobs that people who are blind can’t do. Where there’s opportunity, she said, people will rise to meet it. Employers need to educate themselves to bust those myths and work with an employment coach to learn how to work with someone who has visual impairment.
Bosma, which has been around for more than a century, leads by example. People with disabilities account for over 50% of its workforce, Pace said.
How you can help: Bosma is always in need of individual or corporate volunteers to perform direct service, volunteer at an event or work on a project. Those interested can email the volunteer manager at marys@bosma.org.
Easterseals Crossroads
Areas served: Central Indiana; the INDATA program serves the whole state
Easterseals Crossroads provides programs and services to children and adults with disabilities, including adult day services, assistive technology, augmentative communication, deaf services, home modification, employment, veteran services, and physical, occupational and speech therapies. Easterseals has more than 65 affiliates across the country.
Last year, Easterseals Crossroads and several affiliates published a video webinar about employing people with disabilities. It features Aaron Likens, a flag person for NTT IndyCar Series.
How you can help: To learn more about sponsor opportunities, contact Jim Austin at 317-466-1000, ext. 2601.
New Hope of Indiana
Areas served: Helping individuals and families in Marion, Hamilton, Boone, Hendricks counties; employment services provided in Marion County
People with disabilities face high unemployment rates, but it’s easy to make reasonable accommodations, said Sarah Stone, New Hope’s manager of development and communications.
“New Hope has always worked to make our community a more inclusive place and has worked to demonstrate that people are far more alike than we are different,” Stone said. “We want to remind employers of that.”
New Hope of Indiana provides day services, residential services, therapy programs, vocational services and transitional services.
How you can help: Volunteers are welcome to work one-on-one with people, including for mock interviews, resume preparation, and practicing social and interpersonal skills. New Hope is looking for new employer partners to place vocational clients into appropriate jobs. Additional funding is needed for operating support, as the vocational services program operates at a loss.
Noble
Areas served: Central and Eastern Indiana
Noble’s goal is to build opportunities and better the quality of life for people with disabilities and their families.
“... In 1986, Noble launched the state’s first Community Employment service,” said Rita Davis of Noble. “Over the years, we’ve helped thousands of individuals with disabilities take their first steps on a rewarding career path.”
“So many of us define ourselves by the work we do, and people with disabilities are no different.”
Davis said Noble can help employers screen potential candidates and assist with on-the-job training.
“Hiring a person is not an act of charity — it is a smart business decision,” she said. “And in this time of being short-staffed, a good pathway forward is to widen the pool of candidates by tapping into this often overlooked demographic.”
How you can help: Noble is looking to fill several open positions. Apply online here.
Tangram
Areas served: Allen, Bartholomew, Boone, Carroll, Fountain, Grant, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Lake, Madison, Marion, Montgomery, Morgan, Shelby, Tippecanoe and Warren counties
The unemployment rate for people with disabilities is more than double the rate for non-disabled peers, according to Lindsey Hill, director of mission advancement for Tangram.
National Disability Employment Awareness Month is the perfect time for employers to learn more about this “untapped talent pool” and the benefits of disability inclusion, she said.
“Tangram is committed to building an inclusive community for Hoosiers with disabilities by providing services for individuals and their families and working with the business community to ensure they have the training and tools they need to be confident employers of people with disabilities,” Hill said.
“... Tangram is able to provide support around disability inclusion best practices for organizations that need assistance.”
How you can help: Tangram is looking for board members and volunteers, particularly a volunteer to staff the front desk 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.
