Broward program helps employ disabled
Only 8 percent of companies hire disabled
After a brain herniation in 2008, Lexi Cantore found it hard to talk, swallow or sit up straight. For years, the best way she could communicate was through her cooking.
Today, the 20-year-old wants to become a chef. She said ARC Broward’s 16-week culinary arts program for the disabled helped her build the confidence to sell her homemade granola at fresh food markets.
Cantore is one of many people who have benefited as ARC Broward tries to knock down barriers that keep people with disabilities from getting jobs.
The nonprofit on Friday was awarded a $250,000 grant from the Able Trust to add services in its Center for Financial Stability and to tell employers about the benefits of hiring the disabled.
The federal government says only 8 percent of companies report hiring people with disabilities. Most employers have little exposure to that population, don’t know what to expect or hold stereotypes about their ability to work or travel, advocates say.
Matthew Dyer, who has cerebral palsy, looked for work for six years before he landed his first job in April as a part-time receptionist at a software company. ARC Broward helped him find it.
Dyer acknowledged that his disability might have hurt his efforts to find work. Sometimes he walks with difficulty and must use crutches or a wheelchair for long distances.
“Employers don’t know what to expect with a disabled person,” Dyer said. But he makes an effort to show a strong work ethic.
Dennis Haas, CEO of ARC Broward, said it’s important to spread the message about jobs for people with disabilities.
The belief that people with disabilities cannot travel or drive are “negative myths,” Haas said.
The Able Trust, based in Tallahassee, helps the disabled land careers and smooths the transition from school to work for handicapped kids. The disabled encounter “age-old stereotypes” during their job search, said Sue Homant, the trust’s president and CEO. But “we’ve seen so many successes with people with disabilities.”
“It’s going to be important to hire the disabled because there’s going to be a labor shortage and they’re going to be important to the economy,” Homant said.