Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 13, 1993 TAG: 9306140123
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRYAN WALPERT THE ARLINGTON JOURNAL
DATELINE: CHANTILLY (AP) LENGTH: Medium
A 47-year-old free-lance writer in Chantilly, Chrzanowski found out a few years ago how difficult it is to track down business information for people with disabilities.
Chrzanowski, who has multiple sclerosis, learned of a state program that provides funds for disabled clients to start businesses. She went from office to office, getting conflicting stories along the way.
In the end, she found the information. But "it took umpteen phone calls," she said. "It's not like it was lying there."
She soon learned how little others knew about these and other issues related to business and the disabled. Through columns and articles she writes for Horizons, a Gambrills, Md.-based monthly newspaper for people with disabilities, Chrzanowski spoke with readers who weren't aware they were eligible for programs such as Social Security, much less how to start a business.
So in addition to writing about employment and business issues, she began helping them individually, in some cases matching business owners who needed employees with disabled people who needed jobs.
Now Chrzanowski has set out to open doors on a broader scale - by starting a networking group specifically for people with disabilities. EXCEL, which stands for Excellent Capabilities Empower Leadership, will hold its first official meeting June 26 at the Renaissance Hotel in Arlington.
The group will invite guest speakers on such topics as assertiveness training and job hunting. George A. Covington, who from 1989 through earlier this year was the special assistant for disability policy for the office of the vice president, will speak at the first meeting.
From the point of view of business owners such as Regina Lee, a 37-year-old with muscular dystrophy, the idea is that exchanging cards and discussing business will draw new customers.
"I'm hoping I will be able to get more contacts, to get more contracts, more work, instead of advertising," said Lee, owner of The Scribe, a word-processing business in New Carrollton, Md.
From the perspective of the unemployed, joining the group offers a chance to pass around resumes to people who either are hiring or know someone who is.
Allan D. Kolbo, 60, of Rockville, Md., hopes to squeeze the group for leads on an administrative position with one of the many associations in the Washington area.
Kolbo, who holds a doctorate in geography, says he taught part time at the University of Maryland and at George Mason University in the 1970s. He suffers vision, hearing and other neurological problems as a result of drugs he took for depression in the 1980s.
"I'm trying to rehabilitate myself and begin a new career," Kolbo said. "Most of us have formal education but haven't been able to get into the system because most of our time is taken up rehabilitating ourselves, or we have inadequate contacts."
Byron Price, owner of Price Consulting Engineers Inc. in Fairfax, isn't hiring yet. But Price, who has muscular dystrophy, intends to build contacts through the group, and, eventually, "hire people who have similar disabilities or other disabilities."
Price, who has some trouble walking, formed his business last year, because, if the disorder progresses, he believes employers would be hesitant to promote him.
Chrzanowski says few networking groups exist for people with disabilities, and she's not surprised. "Networking is counter to the way we do things. We're striving to be independent," she said. "It kind of goes against the grain. It's kind of like asking someone for help."
But she says it's necessary. Though the Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to accommodate the disabled, "in reality it is not happening as quickly as it should be happening," she said.
by CNB