Miss-Delectable
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Deaf man finds employment, happiness
LaMontae Westley has gotten used to people underestimating him - it happens when they realize Westley is deaf - but what he couldn't get used to was inactivity.
A job search which lasted more than two years had Westley, 26, doubting himself despite his engaging personality and eager work ethic. All he needed was somebody to give him a chance to show what he could do. With some help from the Southern Illinois Center for Independent Living, Westley got that chance three months ago at the Carbondale McDonald's on Illinois 51, south of the Southern Illinois University campus.
"It was really hard for me to find a job," Westley said through his interpreter and job coach, JoAnna Able. "I looked for a job for a long time. JoAnna helped me a lot. I continued to put in applications to find the right job. I'm so happy McDonald's gave me a two-week opportunity to see if I could do the job."
Westley took the opportunity and ran with it, passing the 90-day mark Thursday. He has gone from two to five days a week working at McDonald's and he ticked off long list of tasks associated with his job. Westley cleans the dining and kitchen areas and parking lots, assists customers opening doors and getting to tables, keeps supplies stocked, makes tea, and a handful of other tasks. He also works the fry station, which surprised his coworkers because the appliance sounds a bell when it's done cooking. Westley got around the alarm by simply looking for lights on the appliance to blink when its cooking cycle is complete.
It helps to be resourceful, which Westley, who lives on his own, is. McDonald's manager Amber Crawshaw said she sometimes communicates with Westley via text message because of her limited American Sign Language vocabulary. Westley is also one of 100 people who use the SI Center for Independent Living to help them find and keep jobs. A handful of businesses in Southern Illinois employ SI Center for Independent Living clients, including Short Enterprises Inc., which owns the McDonald's at which Westley works.
"Everybody deserves a chance," said Lynn Petzoldt, Short Enterprise's director of operations. "There's a lot of people who, with a little help and some supervision, can be productive in society."
Unfortunately, the odds are stacked against folks such as Westley, even with the Americans with Disabilities Act celebrating its 20th year this year. While the ADA has leveled the playing field for many, the economic times in which we live have made it tougher for people with disabilities to get their chance.
"I think there is a greater acceptance of people with disabilities," said Bonnie Vaughn, the Center for Independent Living's director. "The hard part is the availability of jobs."
For the first quarter of 2010, people with disabilities have an unemployment rate 40 percent higher (14.3 percent to 10.3 percent) than those with no disabilities, according to non-seasonally adjusted data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Westley caught a break with McDonald's, which joins Best Buy, Little Caesar's, Wal-Mart and AMC Movie Theaters as businesses which have hired Center for Independent Living clients. Instead of worrying about his future, Westley is planning for it with goals of attending SIUC and someday opening his own business.
Westley said he wanted to make his family proud when he started working at McDonald's, and he said he's done that. Now, Westley has added another goal.
"I want to show people that deaf people, and people with other disabilities, can do anything and be successful, be independent," he said.
LaMontae Westley has gotten used to people underestimating him - it happens when they realize Westley is deaf - but what he couldn't get used to was inactivity.
A job search which lasted more than two years had Westley, 26, doubting himself despite his engaging personality and eager work ethic. All he needed was somebody to give him a chance to show what he could do. With some help from the Southern Illinois Center for Independent Living, Westley got that chance three months ago at the Carbondale McDonald's on Illinois 51, south of the Southern Illinois University campus.
"It was really hard for me to find a job," Westley said through his interpreter and job coach, JoAnna Able. "I looked for a job for a long time. JoAnna helped me a lot. I continued to put in applications to find the right job. I'm so happy McDonald's gave me a two-week opportunity to see if I could do the job."
Westley took the opportunity and ran with it, passing the 90-day mark Thursday. He has gone from two to five days a week working at McDonald's and he ticked off long list of tasks associated with his job. Westley cleans the dining and kitchen areas and parking lots, assists customers opening doors and getting to tables, keeps supplies stocked, makes tea, and a handful of other tasks. He also works the fry station, which surprised his coworkers because the appliance sounds a bell when it's done cooking. Westley got around the alarm by simply looking for lights on the appliance to blink when its cooking cycle is complete.
It helps to be resourceful, which Westley, who lives on his own, is. McDonald's manager Amber Crawshaw said she sometimes communicates with Westley via text message because of her limited American Sign Language vocabulary. Westley is also one of 100 people who use the SI Center for Independent Living to help them find and keep jobs. A handful of businesses in Southern Illinois employ SI Center for Independent Living clients, including Short Enterprises Inc., which owns the McDonald's at which Westley works.
"Everybody deserves a chance," said Lynn Petzoldt, Short Enterprise's director of operations. "There's a lot of people who, with a little help and some supervision, can be productive in society."
Unfortunately, the odds are stacked against folks such as Westley, even with the Americans with Disabilities Act celebrating its 20th year this year. While the ADA has leveled the playing field for many, the economic times in which we live have made it tougher for people with disabilities to get their chance.
"I think there is a greater acceptance of people with disabilities," said Bonnie Vaughn, the Center for Independent Living's director. "The hard part is the availability of jobs."
For the first quarter of 2010, people with disabilities have an unemployment rate 40 percent higher (14.3 percent to 10.3 percent) than those with no disabilities, according to non-seasonally adjusted data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Westley caught a break with McDonald's, which joins Best Buy, Little Caesar's, Wal-Mart and AMC Movie Theaters as businesses which have hired Center for Independent Living clients. Instead of worrying about his future, Westley is planning for it with goals of attending SIUC and someday opening his own business.
Westley said he wanted to make his family proud when he started working at McDonald's, and he said he's done that. Now, Westley has added another goal.
"I want to show people that deaf people, and people with other disabilities, can do anything and be successful, be independent," he said.
