Unemployment among the blind and visually impaired working-age population is around 70%. This statistic has steadily remained the same despite the best efforts of the blindness community. Many qualified blind people wish to be employed but must break through employer misconceptions. There is a talented pool of blind and visually impaired individuals with a lot of potential out there looking for gainful employment held back by their lack of life skills training.
Blind Industries and Services of Maryland (BISM) has been providing training and employment to blind and visually impaired individuals since 1908. BISM's Work To Independence is a seven-week intensive residential life skills summer program for blind and visually impaired high school students transitioning into employment or college.
When students first arrive at Work To Independence, they have minimal work experience, if any. Unlike their sighted peers, they haven't had that first summer job. They haven't had the opportunity to earn their own money, to be responsible for themselves and interact with the larger community. The Work To Independence program gives students those opportunities and more. They not only have their first work experience, but gain valuable nonvisual training in Braille, assistive technology, traveling with a long white cane, and independent home living. This program opens the employment door for many blind youth and shows them that with the proper skills and positive attitude, they can become gainfully employed just like their sighted counterparts.
From working for Baltimore's Urban Pirates to serving meals to the less fortunate, students from our 2013 Work to Independence program had a variety of jobs. Several students had the opportunity of not only gaining work experience, but giving back to the community. Stephanie worked as a representative for Meals on Wheels. She had the opportunity to serve meals to homebound elderly and sick residents. Her upbeat and outgoing personality also made her a perfectly placed to help recruit future volunteers.
Rogina was excited by the opportunity to work at the Catonsville Cat Clinic. This cat clinic serves as more than just a hospital for cats -- it is partnered with a cat rescue organization that takes in stray cats to give them medical assistance and provide them with homes. Rogina was responsible for maintaining the clinic and helping stray kittens adjust to human interaction. Without her gentle handling, these kittens could be considered unadoptable.
Other students worked for Habitat for Humanity assisting in their Re-Store and taught Braille to local blind and visually impaired students. These students not only received important work experience and proved to employers that blind and visually impaired people can be successful employees, but also learned about the importance of giving back to the community.
Without BISM's donors, friends, and associates, we would not be able to offer Work To Independence and other valuable programs and services for blind and visually impaired people. #GivingTuesday funding helps BISM to reach more blind students allowing us to give the gift of independence to blind and visually impaired youth, adults, and seniors and helping them to be successful at home, in school, and at work.
This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post in celebration of #GivingTuesday, which will take place this year (2013) on December 3. The idea behind #GivingTuesday is to kickoff the holiday-giving season, in the same way that Black Friday and Cyber Monday kickoff the holiday-shopping season. We'll feature at least one post from a #GivingTuesday partner every weekday in November. To see all the posts in the series, click here; follow the conversation via #GivingTuesday and learn more here.
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