Lawsuit challenges sheltered workshops for Oregon's disabled | Reuters

I heard this story at lunchtime on the radio and I was intrigued:

Lawsuit challenges sheltered workshops for Oregon's disabled | Reuters

After my college days at Oregon State University, where I worked on the student paper as a columnist (Witticisms...imagine that!) and a copy editor, I worked six months as an assistant editor for World Christian magazine, I had to move back home to look for a real job...one that paid.

For a year I sent out resumes. Zero response. I want to a job seekers class through the Hillsboro Chamber of commerce. I had a vocational rehabilitation counselor named Art. He was an awesome guy. He tried lots of stuff to help get my foot in the door. Truth was. I was hard to market.

Truth is, I am hard to market. My cerebral palsy affects the way I walk and the way I talk. Getting a job depends heavily on your book cover appeal.

It was not until I met a couple visionaries who looked past my disability to give me a shot at proving my ability. Don Bougher ran the state volunteer program in Hillsboro. He had an Apple computer sitting on the floor in his office. He did not know what to do with it. He asked if I could write a spreadsheet in Lotus 1-2-3 to track volunteer hours. I volunteered and created the spreadsheet. Don was a visionary; he saw something in me and gave me a shot to prove my ability.

When I was going to move to California to pursue what looked like better job training possibilities, Don spoke with Gary, the child welfare branch manager. He told Gary the only reason I was moving to California was to look for a job. The next day Gary offered me a temp clerical job. Gary was a visionary. That was over 22 years ago. I work as an eligibility specialist now.

I think about the sheltered workshops. I never worked in one, but it seems like I easily could have ended up in one. I was intrigued by the example at the end of the article, 23 year old Eleanor who got a job at a grocery story after a "strong advocate" helped her get out of a sheltered workshop.

It takes visionaries - disabled who have the vision to believe in themselves when few people do, employers who can see past disabilities to see abilities, and advocates who can help both sides to vision the possibility - to make a successful job match happen.

Whether a lawsuit can make all this happen, it will be interesting to see.