People with disabilities are rarely looking for sympathy, but the overwhelming majority of them are searching for jobs, which can be hard to find as they face an extremely high unemployment rate and are often stigmatized.

“Seventy-five percent of people with disabilities who are of working age are unemployed,” said Ken Skord, project manager for AbilityLinks.org in Wheaton. “Two-thirds of those who are unemployed are actively looking for work and express a willingness to do so.”

For years, these individuals have faced this problem as they attempt to enter the workforce; many times they do so after a life-altering accident. And while many of them have achieved the highest levels of education and have a wealth of experience, they find that it is a different job market they face under these circumstances.

There are approximately 51 million people with disabilities, or 18 percent of the nation’s population. Yet while they comprise a rather large pool of workers, many are never afforded the opportunity to showcase their skill or talent.

Many simply can not get job interviews because companies are afraid of asking the wrong questions in the process and being subjected to lawsuits, while others are afraid that an employee with a disability would cost them significantly in terms of workplace accommodations.

While these beliefs have been proven to be untrue, they still inhibit many able people from obtaining work that would not only benefit themselves but also their potential employers.

“In our society value is often determined by productive gainful employment,” said Kathleen Yosko, president and CEO of Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton. “People with disabilities are not an exception and they want to work. They want to be valued for their contribution.”

Yosko has been in the rehabilitation field for 35 years, but when she began at Marianjoy she knew that she wanted to take the process beyond rehabilitation and reintroduction to the community. She wanted to make it a unit for advocacy as well.

“I didn’t want to speak on behalf of people with disabilities, because they are capable of doing that for themselves,” said Yosko. “But we did want to become partners with them in the process.”

Employment issues

While there are myriad issues that need to be addressed Yosko believed that the quickest way to make an immediate impact would be with employment by engaging the private sector. Things such as transportation and housing are important issues as well, but there is too much red tape to clear through to see instant results.

“I knew that we needed to have some kind of partnership between a group of individuals and businesses,” said Yosko.

Yosko and others developed the idea of an on-line job board that would be solely dedicated to people with disabilities. The idea became what is known now as AbilityLinks.org, which operates under the umbrella of Marianjoy’s services.

Marianjoy raised $1 million from the private sector to launch the site and it began to develop its consortium of private companies, government agencies and municipalities that would help make the site a viable destination for job seekers.

“We now have 150 consortium members and we are becoming more known in the disability community,” said Skord.

Companies like Northern Trust and Molex are members of the consortium as well as agencies like the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and DuPage County Human Services.

The Web site has developed into a place where any company can post job openings and anyone with a disability can post a resume. It functions just like major job boards like Careerbuilder.com or Monster.com, but it is more user friendly for people with disabilities that may be visual or audio-based.

“We have about 300 candidates on the Web site right now and we add about 20-30 a month,” said Skord.

And while the consortium was necessary to help break down barriers with businesses, most working closely on this issue see that it is still an uphill battle that receives a lot of upfront attention from important individuals, but loses momentum when it trickles down to those in charge of addressing it.

Lip Service

“There is this lip service out there of wanting to have this diverse workforce and all businesses preach that,” said John Petrik, dean of career services at DeVry University. “But in reality there is always that unconscious first thought of ‘how much is this going to cost me?’”

Petrik has seen numerous students with disabilities graduate with degrees, but admits that it is always more difficult for them to find work. He works closely with AbilityLinks and has had former students use the Web site for potential job leads.

Patrick Maher, nAblement manager for SPR Inc. in Chicago, previously worked for AbilityLinks but has since moved on to work for his new firm where he helps place IT workers with disabilities. Since SPR began its initiative to have 10-20 percent of its consultants be workers with disabilities, Maher has placed more than 30 individuals in full or part-time positions.

The issue hits close to home for Maher, who has had permanent disability in the form of a spinal chord injury since 1981.

Maher began his work with SPR in 2004 and it had However, like Petrik, Maher has discovered that while companies outwardly support the idea of employing an individual with a disability, they rarely follow through on their words.

“The reaction from the C-level, CEOs, CFOs, is always positive,” said Maher. “The challenges come when you try and filter through an organization.”

Maher commended Walgreens as one of the few major companies to make a pledge and follow through on it. The pharmaceutical chain has mandated that it will staff one-third of its warehouses with employees with disabilities.

Break down barriers

The only way to truly break down barriers is to keep engaging employers and attempting to debunk the preconceived notions regarding people with disabilities, said Maher.

According to AbilityLink’s Skord, the average cost of job accommodation for someone with disabilities is $500-$700, well below the thousands of dollars that most employers fear.

They also can end up saving an employer in training costs, because statistics show that they have a much lower turnover rate than other employees.

“People with disabilities have a lower turnover rate because they often have more loyalty than other employees,” said Skord. “They can also serve as a positive sense of morale for the entire office.”

Carolyn Harper, regional recruiter for Paychex Inc. in Winfield, has hired people with disabilities through AbilityLinks and found the process to be positive.

“We have had several temporary employees that worked on assignments with us, and at least one employee who has worked with us on a full-time basis,” said Harper. “Often, unless these individuals make it known to you that they have or have had a disability, you may not know it.”

This situation, however, is somewhat of a catch-22 for these individuals.

According to Skord, people with disabilities are not tracked by the federal government as a minority group or class that is eligible for preferential treatment in the employment setting.

But according to Maher, this is the way that people with disabilities would prefer to keep it. Having a disability can be a very personal thing, and if one is able to keep it concealed and wishes to, it is his or her right. Also, they simply do not want to be defined by their disability.

“My preference is not to involve the federal government in the process,” said Maher. “We must get it done by proving to businesses that there is nothing to fear in hiring someone with disabilities. People with disabilities really hate being presented as a diverse candidate.”

He also noted that individuals with disabilities may be part of the solution to the impending shortage of workers as the Boomer generation begins to retire.

“People with disabilities are 20 percent of the population,” said Maher. “We need this labor pool.”