Finding a job can be challenging for most, and for those with mental disabilities, it can be even more difficult. But University education professors Andrew Halpern and Michael Bullis are working with several local groups to make entering the work force easier.
The professors teamed up to create the Successful Transitions to Employment Program three years ago, and last fall they received the money to launch the program, which will work with community organizations such as Lane ShelterCare, Laurel Hill Center and the Oregon Vocational Rehabilitation Division. The groups identify clients’ needs and then assist them with services such as on-the-job training, counseling and any medical services they may need. Group members also inform employers how to best meet the needs of people with mental disabilities in the workplace.
Halpern and Bullis received the money to start their program through a five-year grant from the U.S. Rehabilitation Services Administration, beating out more than 200 other applicants to win the funding.
Bullis said the grant aids people with illnesses such as brain injuries and psychiatric problems. He said he expects to help about 35 people each year.
“It’s unfair if these people’s illnesses get in the way of working, but the reality is they are in need of some kind of support,” he said.
Halpern said the biggest problem for people with mental disabilities is trying to find work. He said employers can be reluctant to hire someone with a mental disability.
“Because of their mental illness, they often don’t have a good history or previous work experience,” he said. “Finding work becomes a fairly serious problem for those with mental disabilities, but it’s not a lost cause.”
Halpern said he and Bullis work closely with the community groups to assess a client’s individual needs and determine what kind of job he or she wants. He said the program is still in its early stages.
“We then work very individually to help them find those goals,” he said. “We start with what a person really wants, and help that person get there.”
He said one factor that made the professors want to work with the other community groups was that they were already doing work to help the mentally disabled, so it seemed to be a good opportunity to do even more.
“The collaborating agencies are already doing work in this area, so they provide a terrific foundation to expand this work,” he said.
Chaz Nebergall, the assistant director of Lane ShelterCare, said the center was able to hire three new staff members to work as vocational specialists with the grant money.
“I’m very excited,” he said. “It’s giving us resources that we didn’t have to help people achieve a higher level of independence, and that’s a great opportunity.”
Lane ShelterCare is a residential treatment provider for people with mental disabilities. The center could not offer job training before the grant.
Nebergall said Halpern and Bullis visit regularly and they are all willing to help the clients on an individual basis, but the clients have to want to be helped.
“They have to be motivated,” he said. “They have to want to work.”
Nebergall said Lane ShelterCare is currently working with 19 clients, but they are allowed to work with a maximum of 20 at a time.
“I’m confident by the end of the month we’ll be working with 20,” he said.