National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2021

National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), celebrated each October, is an annual month of celebrating all abilities, recognizing the important contributions that people with disabilities have made in the workplace, and promoting inclusion in workplaces.

Brandon Torres, Employment Specialist at Search, shared, “With the staff shortage, more and more companies are able to hire our guys. Some companies are even launching a diversity initiative in order to hire those that are experiencing barriers to employment. At the moment, it’s a good time to take advantage of these opportunities and hopefully create more relationships/partnerships along the way.”

At Search, as only a department of three, our Community Employment Services (CES) team collectively placed 8 people at the end of September and in the beginning of this month. Placements for individuals have included Goodwill, Target, Costco, Sunset Foods, Mariano’s, SIPI, and Jewel.

It was an incredibly busy past month for our Search CES team. Sarah Meyerson, Employment Specialist, QIDP, shared, “Brandon and I, and now Robert as well, have been running from jobsite to jobsite to train people at their new jobs. We are finding them jobs at places that we weren’t always having success with in the past, such as Target, Sunset Foods and Costco.”

Many thanks to our incredible Community Employment team for their ongoing hard work and dedication to the individuals we serve.

Check out some of our community employment placements below.

(Don’t forget to check out two recent employment stories that JJ’s List also shared. Read Anna’s story, as well as an interview with many CES folks, on their website.)