TALKS 9: Businesses Changing the Status Quo: Shifting the Face of Disability Employment

“I think we need to make to make the systems work for the people, not for the systems. People are capable of a lot more than we give them credit for, we just have to give them opportunity.” – Damon McLeese, Executive Director of Access Gallery

Did you know that people with disabilities experience higher rates of unemployment than those without disabilities? This mini-documentary series features five businesses working to change that fact! In the Businesses Changing the Status Quo: Shifting the Face of Disability Employment TALKS series, hear from the restaurant, health care, visual arts, entrepreneurship, and retail perspectives on ways to create opportunity and support employees with disabilities. It’s simpler than you think!

Why you listen

• -Understand that employing people with disabilities is not just a socially-conscious action, it’s also a smart business decision;
• -Learn how these businesses are taking simple and easy steps to accommodate and support their employees with disabilities;
• -Discover how someone with a disability can become an entrepreneur and why that may be the best career path for them; and
• -Introduce yourself to business strategies and programs that can ensure meaningful, Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE) for your employees!

Who should listen

• -Short-staffed businesses;
• -Businesses interested in creating an accessible environment for their employees;
• -Individuals with disabilities seeking career path ideas, including self-employment;
• -Professionals, Families, or Caretakers that support people with disabilities;
• -Advocacy organizations; and
• -Disability organizations.

This TALKS series was made possible through support from arc Thrift Stores, Colorado Access, Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council, Developmental Pathways, PASCO, and The Arc of Aurora.

To watch this podcast in it's video format, visit https://thinkchange.training/businesses-changing-status-quo-shifting-face-disability-employment/