Sheltered (Workshops) #AtoZChallenge

Sheltered workshops are going away due to a Supreme Court decision.  Many advocates say "hurray, it's long overdue."

Others say, "perhaps not so fast".

It may surprise you to know, if you are a regular reader of this blog, that I am in the second camp.

But first, what is a sheltered workshop?  And what is wrong with the concept?

Actually, I think there is a lot wrong with it, but getting rid of them may not be the best thing.

One definition of sheltered workshop is " an organization or environment that employs people with disabilities separately from others."

When Bil lived in downstate New York, he worked in a sheltered workshop environment.  He made less than minimum wage - much less.  He worked part time, was paid by the piece and was transported to and from the job door to door (he also had to pay for that transportation from that meager paycheck.)

How did Bil end up at that type of job?  It was because he didn't succeed in more mainstream jobs. It was long ago, and he wasn't given very much support at all.  No job coaches.  He was left to fend for himself when a manager he liked was no longer there and the replacement (apparently) verbally abused him.

Bil walked off another job.

At the sheltered workshop, if he was sick, he didn't work.  If he wanted to take the day off, he did.  He was never taught the skills we neurotypical take for granted.

So, what happens to people who have been in the sheltered workshop system for 25 or more years?  It's nice to say you will integrate them into the least restrictive job setting they can handle, but, based on years of experience dealing with "the system" I know that there isn't going to be the funding for it.

So, while the "system" pays lip service, people like Bil are in serious danger of falling through cracks.

In point of fact, Bil has not worked one day since he moved from downstate up to where he lives now - going on two years.  Why?  Because of the sheltered workshop phaseout, the workshops up here were not taking on any new employees. Bil was asked if he wanted to work, and he said he was interested in rounding up carts at a supermarket.

But the next time they asked, Bil said he didn't want to work.

And now, the local workshop (the one he may have worked at, given the chance) will be closing on September 30.

As an advocate, I ask: Will Bil ever work again? Will there be a job coach or any support for him?  Or will he be unemployed for the rest of his life?

I suspect, for him, and given the dangerous budget cuts now in the works, it will be the latter.

Tomorrow, Sunday, is an "off" day. Come back on Monday for more on my Unknown Journey.

If I Ran

The Friday Reflection prompt for today "If I ran the country, what would I do?", makes me think of the thing I fear most about Bil's life.

A Friday reflection on Saturday - why not? Just a day late.  So much runs late in Bil's world, my brother in law who is developmentally disabled.

We've been waiting for months for Bil to be approved for a service that will help him develop some skills that may lead to some independence for him, while working one on one with a service provider.

There is another program we were able to get him into, one that is benefiting him, but I live in fear that there will be budget cuts and the program will be discontinued.

If I ran the country, there would be no such thing as budget cuts that leave the most helpless of our citizens without services they and their families depend heavily on.  Budgets would be carefully written and managed.

Why this dependence on services paid for by government, you may ask?  Shouldn't families take care of their own?

The answer is "yes, but".  In many cases, family involvement in a child's life (including when that child is grown), is not enough.

For example, 21 is a magic age in our society - the age that a person becomes, officially, an adult.  They can drink alcohol.  They gain other rights.

If they are disabled, though, they "age out".  They lose services.  Their families, who have the tremendous burden of caring for them, lose supports.  What if your child has a condition requiring 24 hour supervision, just as one example?  Sooner or later, family members burn out.  Just think of a person giving care to an elderly or seriously ill person, because many of of have done that.  Now think of doing that for the next 50 or 60 years.  Could you? Could anyone?

Bil isn't 21. He's in his 50's. And his mother is approaching 90.  Bil has siblings, but they (for the most part) are older than Bil.  They are aging, too, and are developing health problems.  Fortunately, Bil does not require 24 hour attention or assistance.  But he needs it daily.

So, this is really today's question:

Wouldn't it benefit society to have safety nets in place for individuals like Bil?  Wouldn't it benefit society for people with disabilities to become more independent, to get training in life skills? To have adequate housing?  To have good respite programs for their caregivers?

 As it is, in many instances, neither the disabled person nor the caregiver can't get a good job.  The disabled person's medical overages are inferior - just try finding a dentist who takes Medicaid, just as one example.  People like Bil and their families must fight just to get training for everyday tasks that would make them more independent, less dependent on the taxpayer.

If I ran the country, we would find ways for these individuals to develop, to ease the burden on their families, and to save the taxpayer money.

But, I don't run the country.  And it is likely I never will.  But I still hold out hope for a good future for Bil.

Linking to #FridayReflections.

The Worst Time of the Year

Here in south central New York, winter has settled in, with snow, ice, and howling winds.

It is a rough time of the year for disabled people.

Many depend on HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program) to help with the heating bills, but money is limited, and unti that HEAP check comes, they have to limp along their heat.  The heating people won't make deliveries without a certain number of fuel oil or kerosene gallons, and many can't afford that minimum delivery without the HEAP money.

People in this country may not believe how close some people come to freezing to death each winter, but this could be one of your neighbors.  It could be the young man helping you at the grocery store, making minimum wage at a part time job, with few or no benefits.  Or, the disabled vet.

Or, a person like Bil, with a developmental disability.

Bil doesn't even make minimum wage at his sheltered workshop job, but the county he lives in counts his income in with his SSDI (social security disability) and his Mom's pension, and bottom line, it puts her above the cut off for HEAP.  So she has to struggle along, and Bil struggles with her.

For the disabled, this is the worst time of the year.  And that isn't even the entire story.  More tomorrow.

A Thoughtful Time

I've been silent for a little while.  There have been several reasons.

First, I have been preoccupied by a number of things.  My back going out again.  The death (expected, but still food for thought) of a friend's husband.  A writing project I've gotten involved in.  The job loss of my brother in law's wife (the brother in law who doesn't have autism that is.)

And, on Friday, my brother in law lost his job.

That wasn't totally unexpected either but....he has had so many close calls.

He and his wife both worked for a major employer in this area.  She had worked for this company (and companies before they were bought up by the present company) for some 30 years.  He had been there even longer.

This is not a good time for our economy, for many of our citizens, including our most vunerable. 

How the events affecting my brother in law and his wife will end up affecting Bil, I don't know.  When a pebble drops into a pond, the ripples spread out wide.

Only time will tell.