By Victor Ocasio
Job opportunities for LIers with disabilities have improved only marginally, despite economic conditions that have rebounded since the recession of 2008-2009 and near record low unemployment rates, advocates say.
“Although there’s been a significant economic expansion and unemployment is the lowest it’s been in decades in New York State, that hasn’t translated into opportunities for those with disabilities that one would expect,” said Maureen O’Brien, president and chief executive of New York State Industries for the Disabled (NYSID), a nonprofit representing more than 100 companies and organizations that employ mostly workers with disabilities and contract their services to government agencies…..
Jeanie Shelton, assistant director of vocational services at Adults and Children with Learning Disabilities, a Bethpage-based nonprofit, said lack of computer skills sometimes holds back individuals with disabilities, as does lack of transportation.
Services such as Able-Ride in Nassau County, or Suffolk County Accessible Transportation (SCAT), provide pickup and drop-off services for residents with disabilities.
“Those services are helpful for the people that qualify for them,” Shelton said. “However, there are some [geographic] pockets of Long Island that don’t qualify for those services.” Read Full Article