For disabled, finding work is especially tough

Like 14 million other Americans, Frank Roybal is unemployed. And like many of them, he’s been faithfully filling out applications and distributing resumes, all to no avail.

Unlike most of the other people without jobs, however, Roybal is blind, and having a disability makes a job search that much harder — and less likely to pay off. Even in a good economy, people with disabilities are less likely to find work, say those who advocate for them.

“Because of the way the economy is, it’s way harder,” says Loretta Jacobs, a contract worker for the Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation who has been Roybal’s longtime employment specialist. “I go out with Frank to look for jobs, and they tell me they already have 150 applications.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national unemployment rate for people with disabilities in August was 16.1 percent, compared with 8.8 percent for those without disabilities. And the proportion of the population employed in 2010 was 18.6 percent among those with a disability, compared with 63.5 percent without.

Colorado doesn’t collect similar data, but those who help disabled people with their job searches have seen the same gap in employment opportunities.

One reason people with disabilities may have trouble finding employment is that they are unable to perform the work required for a particular job. Roybal, 43, had a job folding laundry at a Colorado Springs hotel for 14 years, but the housekeeping staff was downsized, he says, and they added duties to his workload that he couldn’t do, including handling cleaning chemicals. He lost his job in 2009.

Jacobs said it would be difficult for Roybal to even work as a Walmart greeter, because the job would require him to handle customers’ returns.

But Ken Reynolds, regional supervisor for the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, believes there’s another, more prevalent roadblock to employment.

“I would suggest that the primary barrier is a lack of familiarity with the abilities that persons with disabilities possess, and the perception that if an individual is a person with a disability, they can’t do the job,” he says.

Reynolds says there’s a continuum of disabilities, and with training and counseling, many people with disabilities can handle a variety of jobs. It’s just a matter of showing employers that people with disabilities are up to the task, and that’s not easy in a tight job market — even with tax and other incentives.

“I think in today’s labor market, employers have such a large pool of applicants from which to select that the willingness to look beyond the first impression is less critical,” Reynolds says.

The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and Goodwill Industries, among others, are trying to increase job opportunities for people with disabilities. About 42 percent of Goodwill’s 1,000 employees have a physical, intellectual or mental disability, says spokeswoman Laura Marth, and the nonprofit is trying to add jobs for that population by landing more contracts for its janitorial and laundry services. Goodwill currently has eight commercial contracts.

The Arc Thrift Stores also employ people with disabilities, providing about 300 hours a week of work at its retail outlets in Pueblo and Colorado Springs, said Dan Timm, manager of the south district for Arc Thrift Stores.

“We do as much as we possibly can to walk the walk,” Timm says.

The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation has ratcheted up its efforts by trying to contact more human resource offices, Reynolds says. The agency also held a job fair last week that included employers who have a history of hiring people with disabilities.

Although the deck seems stacked against him, Roybal has kept a positive attitude. He’s been volunteering as a greeter at an Arc Thrift Store in Colorado Springs, hoping it will turn into paid work, and he and Jacobs go out looking for work once a week. He averages about 10 applications a week in person and 20 online, but so far, nothing’s come through.

“I just look at is as, they’re out there. You’ve got to look,” says Roybal, who lives on his own and makes ends meet with Social Security Disability — an income that leaves him with only $40 at the end of the month after he pays for rent and other necessities. “It’s no good to cop an attitude. The economy is the economy. If you give up, it’s your fault.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION

The Colorado Springs office of the Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation assesses, trains and counsels people with disabilities to help them find jobs. The office is at 1365 Garden of Gods Road Suite 250: 635-3585.