Two North Texas groups understand the importance of creating and maintaining inclusive workforces, which is why they’ve partnered together to help more people with disabilities find jobs.
My Possibilities—a Plano-based job placement program for adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities—and the North Texas Disability Chamber recently announced their joint venture: The North Texas Inclusive Employment Collaborative.
The Collaborative will help provide local employers with the opportunities, education, and resources needed to hire more disabled individuals into their respective workforces. It’s a positive step in the right direction for businesses and residents alike, and Shelley Crowder, My Possibilities’ chief program officer, agrees.
Speaking with KERA News, Crowder said, “Our population is one of the most underserved and underrepresented populations in the workforce. Bringing our resources together really helps us to be able to change that in our area.” Part of that change is facilitated by providing employers with the tools needed to jumpstart this hiring process.
The CEO and president of the North Texas Disability Chamber, Dylan Rafaty, explained further. “We are open to everyone. We know that employers come in all sizes and shapes and they come from different parts of the journey — [Our job is] to increase the engagement, provide better awareness, but more importantly increase the number of employers who want to sign on,” Rafaty said.
The unemployment rate for people with disabilities has gotten worse in recent years
Information gathered by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the unemployment rate among people with disabilities is double that of individuals who do not have a disability. Not only is the statistic alarming, but Shelley Crowder said it also provides crucial insight into why there’s such a large gap in employment opportunities for people with intellectual or development disabilities.
As she explained to KERA News, many companies are unable to maintain disability-inclusive employment or hiring practices due to lack of information and resources. That’s where My Possibilities, and now The North Texas Inclusive Employment Collaborative, step in. The idea is to provide employers with everything they need to turn toward more diverse business models.
Crowder said, “It is about understanding what needs these individuals may have in the workplace. But it’s also a mind shift in understanding what these individuals that we serve are capable of.” She added, “We are actively looking to partner with companies that want to open those doors, open those jobs. That’s a good case to show that it could also be done in other areas. And that would be our hope, that other areas of the state, or the country even see the work that we’re doing here in North Texas and say, ‘hey, we can do that in our neighborhood.’”
Dylan Rafaty expanded on that idea, saying, “What we’re seeing is that people have hope. We know that employment is just one part of the big puzzle that our communities face. As somebody with disabilities, I have a home. I have a dog. I live independently, and I know how vital employment is. It provides income. It provides support.”
The North Texas Inclusive Employment Collaborative won’t officially launch until October 2027, but work will be consistently done by My Possibilities and the North Texas Disability Chamber between now and then to determine how many employers are interested in joining the Collaborative and what resources and training are needed to help make that possible.
Rafaty told KERA News, “We’re closing in to another tough year for many organizations and companies and individuals, too. We’re hard at work — to ensure that what we’re doing is meaningful and is measured and that we’re providing something of benefit to the public.”
This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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