SOAR365 Celebrates NDEAM By Highlighting Benefits to Employers and Workers

Everyone has skills, talents and strengths to share in the workplace – including people with disabilities. That’s why every October, SOAR365 is proud to celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). This year’s theme is “Access to Good Jobs for All.”

Did you know? People with disabilities face more than double the unemployment rate and are far less likely to be employed. According to the Department of Labor, in 2023…

• The unemployment rate for people with disabilities (ages 16-64) was 7.7%. Meanwhile, it was just 3.5% for those without disabilities in the same age range.
• Just 37.1% of people with disabilities were employed. That’s compared to 75.0% of people without disabilities in the same age range (ages 16-64).

How does SOAR365 help people with disabilities find the right job?

SOAR365 Employment Services helps youth and adults with disabilities explore career opportunities, learn new skills and find the right job for them.

Pre-Employment Transition Services

We’re proud to work with our local school systems to provide pre-employment transition services (pre-ETS). We work closely with schools to provide assessments, career exploration, training opportunities, and work-based learning experiences for students ages 14-22.

Supported Employment

Our employment specialists (or “job coaches”) take the time to get to know each of our adult Supported Employment participants. They help them identify their interests, build career skills, try out different workplaces and secure the right job for them. Job coaches also help with training, tools, and on-the-job support until participants are independent and successful in their new role.

Director of Employment Services Chris Martin says that his favorite part is “watching folks get jobs when they’ve never had jobs before, or maybe they had one that didn’t work out. Just knowing that they can do it.”

He also enjoys “being able to prove to the community what people with disabilities can do.”

“You just have to figure out how to build upon their strengths,” says Chris.

Supported Employment served 90 participants in 2023, and that number is expected to nearly double in 2024. From movie theaters to grocery stores, and from bookstores to the floor of the Virginia General Assembly, our participants can be found working, training or engaging in career exploration all over town.

Business Solutions

SOAR365 also employs people with disabilities in our own businesses. But we don’t just offer jobs, we go above and beyond to provide personalized supports and accommodations. “We work with a population that wants to work, has an opportunity to work, and we help them be successful,” says Jim Quigg, Vice President of Business Solutions.

Here, employees with and without disabilities work together and learn from each other, while delivering valuable services for our customers.

Employees also receive market-based pay, not reduced wages. Their jobs offer year-round work and stability. And full-time employees are eligible for excellent benefits, as well as paid holidays and time off.

Investing in our employees with disabilities is not only the right thing to do – it leads to award-winning results that our clients appreciate. We completed more than $12 million in business in 2023 because we consistently deliver excellent work from highly motivated employees.

Why should employers hire people with disabilities?

Increased profits and competitiveness

“Employing people with disabilities brings diverse perspectives, unique talents, and a richer, more inclusive work environment,” says Trent McFadden, Assistant Vice President, AbilityOne Business Line.

Combined, these benefits also improve a business’ bottom line, according to a new research report from Accenture, in partnership with Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD).

They found that companies that prioritize inclusive hiring generate 1.6 times more revenue, 2.6 times more net income and 2 times more economic profit than other companies. They are also more likely to outperform their industry peers in productivity by 25 percent.

Improved culture and morale

Hiring people with disabilities “makes people conscious of other people’s differences, and accommodating those and working with those allows people to open up their minds and treat everybody in that manner,” adds Randy Britt, Director of Commercial Grounds Operations.

Take James. He started training for his job in Landscaping & Grounds Maintenance at an early age, thanks to his dad’s landscaping business. “I’ve been cutting grass since I was five,” he says proudly.

His sunny outlook brightens the day for the whole crew. “Mr. James. That’s my guy, love him to death,” says Weldon Hall, former Crew Leader. “James has probably taught me more than anybody out here.”

Compassion, understanding and growth lead to a better workplace. This raises the morale of the whole team and gives everyone the skills they need to succeed.

Low-cost accommodations improve the hiring pool

When employers don’t hire people with disabilities, they risk missing out on the talents of people like Troy Carter.

Troy has a passion for photography and videography, with the skills to match. Yet reading and writing can be challenging. His SOAR365 job coach found the right tools that allowed Troy to bring his photography and videography skills to VCU’s Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC). Accommodations like a natural reader app, a microphone for talk-to-text and a read aloud feature on his browser made the job accessible, so Troy’s strengths could shine.

Some employers fear that accommodations will be expensive. Yet a report by the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) revealed that more than half of the employers surveyed (56%) said the accommodations they made cost nothing to implement ($0). Of those that had a one-time cost, the median amount was $300.

They may not have a big price tag, but they have a big impact.

Bill Lemmond is a janitor who works on one of SOAR365’s AbilityOne contracts. Bill receives accommodations like listening to podcasts while he works. It’s a small thing that helps him succeed in a job he loves.

“I get paid time off for the first time in my life,” says Bill. “I have paid holidays for the first time in my life. I’ve been able to save money for the first time in my life.”

And the benefits don’t stop there. “I’m working with people who accept and value me,” he adds. “It’s easily the best job I’ve ever had.”

How can YOU celebrate NDEAM?

Interested in learning more about disability employment, or looking to celebrate the contributions of workers with disabilities? You can…

• Give to SOAR365 this month in honor of NDEAM
• Learn more about making your workplace accessible (or use this toolkit)
• Share posts about NDEAM on social media
• Talk to your employer about hiring people with disabilities
• Learn more about disability etiquette in the workplace
• Watch and share these great PSAs about disability employment
• Talk with your children about disability

Join us in celebrating the contributions of workers with disabilities. Together, we can help make our world a more inclusive place.

To learn more about Supported Employment and our other programs for kids and adults with disabilities, please visit soar365.org/find-support.

Know someone with a disability who is looking for a job? Visit soar365.org/work-for-us today!