Celebrating Employees with Disabilities and the Employers Who Hire Them During Disability Pride Month

Celebrating Employees with Disabilities and the Employers Who Hire Them During Disability Pride Month

The Partnership continues to work with its network of services to provide resources for job seekers with disabilities

During July, which is Disability Pride Month, The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership (Partnership) is highlighting a regional talent pool that is too often underutilized: job seekers with disabilities and the employers who hire them.

“Roughly five percent of The Partnership’s customers we serve with federal workforce dollars report having a disability,” says Partnership CEO George Wright. “We at The Partnership believe in ensuring these customers have access to our network’s services and are lifted up as competent and capable members of the labor force who can contribute mightily to ensuring regional employers remain competitive.”

Disability Pride Month initially started as a day in 1990, the year that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law, and celebrates individuals with disabilities embracing their disabilities. This year, The Partnership and Cook County launched the Cook County Career Pathways Navigator program to support individuals with disabilities and connect them with organizations to help them with their career paths. The program is made possible by Cook County’s investment of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

In Cook County, more than 520,000 Chicagoland residents report having a disability and represent a source of untapped talent. The Partnership released a new Hire Frequency podcast episode for Disability Pride Month that features ScaleLit External Affairs Director Robert Guzman; Beds Plus Chief Financial Officer Ramya Tallarovic, an employer-partner who hires people with disabilities; and Justin Herbst, a Beds Plus employee with disabilities. The episode is hosted by Joshua Williams, The Partnership’s Community Innovation Program Coordinator.

“People with disabilities are an underutilized group. We are hungry and motivated to work,” said Justin, who has served in the role of receptionist at Beds Plus for two years and has cerebral palsy. “As a person with a disability, you have to find the right mindset. Look for a job that appreciates you for you.”

Eli’s Cheesecake Company, a key regional manufacturing employer-partner, offers career opportunities to a diverse talent pool. Yue Ping Brodowski, who is deaf, has worked at Eli’s Cheesecake Company for 12 years and is a Quality Assurance (QA) Documentation Specialist.

“I feel like Eli’s is my home. I am thrilled to learn and grow alongside this company,” Yue signed. Yue likes creating things and believes that manufacturing is a good place for people with disabilities to work.

La Grange Area Department of Special Education (LADSE), a partner of The Partnership, is the first special education organization to be established in Illinois. LADSE offers vocational skills workshops, community-based work experience and more to young adults – made possible in part by federal workforce investment funding provided by The Partnership. The program has served 43 young adults with disabilities and made 28 job placements this year.

For more information about how The Partnership can support a career search for a job seeker with a disability, or match a job seeker and employer, visit Cook County Career Pathways Navigator Program at ScaleLit.org/jobseeker.