community integration for people with disabilities

[Guest guest]

Thanks Ellen for posting the article, and thanks to all of you in advance for

posting reviews about the disability-aware (or not!) service of your local

businesses at www.jjslist.com.  This is an easy and free way to make a real

difference. 

We hear a lot about the difficulty of finding employment for people with

disabilties, and I can tell you from my experience in this field that businesses

are much more likely to hire an individual with a disability when they see the

bottom line benefits to providing good customer service to people with

disabilities.  That means people with and without disabilities patronizing their

businesses because of their good disability-aware service:  are they

welcoming?  do they give extra time when needed?  do they hire or have

volunteers with disabilities?  are they physically accessible?  etc.,etc. 

The head of diversity of one of our country's largest corporations told me that

they want their employee base to reflect their customer base and that when they

see the influence of the disability consumer on their reputation and bottom

line, they will be much more agressive about disability hiring. 

Even if your loved one will not be seeking competitive employment, he or she has

a right to disability-aware customer service and you have a powerful consumer

voice in letting businesses know that you expect in disability-aware service.  

It only gets better for your family when it gets better for all.  Post your

reviews at www.jjslist.com.

Thanks,

JJ