by Monica Chamness
Staff Writer
Grove House, the organization probably best known for its orange-picking fundraisers for the mentally challenged, has branched out to offer employment services.
Formed in 1993 to provide home and life skills training to the developmentally disabled and those suffering from brain injuries, the group is now offering them jobs, with independent living being their ultimate goal.
“We spend time getting to know their interests and abilities,” said Jennie DeBardeleben, employment services director. “It’s more than looking at job duties. We try to individualize it. It is about the whole person and what they want.”
Part of the strategy for Grove House involves networking with employers who may be interested in recruiting workers. Matching skills with employer needs is DeBardeleben’s expertise. Sometimes the process requires a little creativity on her part to discover what niche can be filled.
“I believe if someone wants to work, there’s a job out there,” said DeBardeleben. “The key is finding their strengths and finding or developing a position to benefit the person and the employer. Are we placing people in very professional fields? No. But they make better than minimum wage.”
Grove House has compiled a list of companies that provide positive working environments for those with disabilities, including IBM, Intel, Microsoft, DuPont, Lucent Technologies, Bausch & Lomb, Johnson & Johnson, General Electric and McDonalds.
With the organization since November, DeBardeleben helped initiate the program. Currently, she supervises the job placement and training of those under her care. Assisting with the writing of revenue generating grants is another of her duties.
The only requirements for participants in the program are that they must be medically stable.
As far as occupations that may be hazardous to either the impaired worker or others, DeBardeleben does not believe in discouraging her clients.
“I can’t give any one profession that I would steer them away from,” she said.
Services Grove House offers to employers include recruitment assistance, identification of essential job functions, performance evaluations, post-hire follow up services, ongoing consultation and resource material related to the American with Disabilities Act, disability awareness, tax credits and accommodations.
Specifically, these employment services translate into preparing resumes, honing interview skills, searching for positions and filling out applications. Once a job is secured, they will also visit the place of business to provide additional training and accommodation to the disabled person.
If there is a change in management or job duties shift, Grove House personnel follow up to ease the transition.
“One of our biggest selling points is that this is a huge, untapped labor pool dying to work,” she said. “They may need a little help but they have the potential to be the most dedicated.”
According to DeBardeleben, other facilities offer similar services but the need is great enough to necessitate their involvement.
As discovered in a 2000 Harris Survey by the National Organization on Disability, only 32 percent of people of working age with disabilities work part-time or full-time as compared to 81 percent of people without disabilities. More than two-thirds of those individuals with disabilities who are not employed say they would prefer to be working. People with disabilities comprise 10 percent of the working age population.
Currently, the organization has a waiting list of individuals for the program. Because of the demand, the program has been expanded and additional staff have been added.
To evaluate their clients skill level and train them on basic skills, Grove House has recently introduced a coffee cart program. Two carts were purchased and placed at the Jewish Community Alliance and the DePaul Building of St. Vincent’s. Coffee vendors around the country and area corporations have partnered with the organization to facilitate the program.
In the future, Grove House anticipates an increase in funding for its residential program through a housing grant. The program establishes those with cognitive impairments in an independent apartment or home.