Disabled and returning to the workforce...

Sorry for the delay in a new post. My family and I are recent corporate relos with the job my husband accepted here in San Diego, and I've been consumed by the home buying process in this short-sale real estate market, but that's another blog altogether...



I want to thank those who have left comments on this blog. I really appreciate it. I have also received some comments on my Facebook page with regard to this blog, so gracias for that too.



Of the Facebook comments, one former high school classmate of mine stood out in particular as he took great effort to share his experience in trying to find work. He was in a motorcycle accident a few years after school, and has been in a wheelchair ever since. He re-trained for a career in auto cad design after the accident but had the toughest time landing work even in Seattle, where he lives - a city that is considered on many accounts progressive and more accepting of differences than the norm.



He mentioned instances where employers would invite to interview despite the business building not having wheelchair access or the job ultimately not being able to accommodate a wheelchair-bound employee. Remember, this is auto-cad: a desk job by all accounts. In other instances, the hiring goal was geared more toward enhancing the company's community involvement effort, i.e. the position was a token effort to include a disabled person amongst its ranks for the sake of business' HR image. And of course, the disabled have to overcome the almost subconscious perceptions that the disabled are more a burden than what they contribute. Physical limitations connote less productivity for the salary for all kinds of reasons: missed days of work for medical issues, potentially costly at-work accommodations, a walking-on-eggshells co-worker empathy, etc...



Many of those perceptions are built from an ignorant glance that the disabled don't want to work full-time and long-term. It is not that simple. For those who are physically-challenged but able to re-train and work, they must also weigh-in the pros and cons of returning to work at all. Sounds like a no-brainer. If you can work, then you should. But for the disabled, there is another layer to contend with. State and community assistance - for therapy, medical equipment/technological devices, transportation and additional supports usually have the eligibility requirement that the consumer have little to no income and/or assets in order to qualify. It's downright poverty. In California, to qualify for many if not most state developmental services, a consumer cannot have more than $2,000 in total assets. In other words, you cannot own a car, have a savings account to speak of, own property of any kind.



If you work, then you should have health insurance and income and should not get subsidized community assistance is the knee-jerk thought that comes to a reader's mind. But the disability related costs for those areas of support and need most certainly in the majority of cases outspend the average joe's income under the best of circumstances. It's the middle class squeeze raised exponentially. Too rich to qualify for help, to poor to pay for it privately. So many work, in a perpetual hope that their health needs don't outweigh their ability to earn a living to pay for it. But many do not, because if they work they will be penalized for wanting to help themselves as much as possible.



I know this blog is about returning to the workforce and for most of us it's a matter of updating or getting new skills, polish the resume writing and interview skills and hitting the proverbial pavement of job searching and networking until something sticks. But for some among us, there is even more to contend with. Just a sidebar thought if you will.