Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 27, 1994 TAG: 9410290012
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Mathias said that after graduation from high school she had a difficult time finding a suitable job. Hines, who has been a homemaker since she couldn't find child care for her two children seven years ago, was waiting for a good job opportunity.
With the help of the Department of Rehabilitative Services here in Roanoke, Hines and Mathias found jobs with the U.S. Postal Service, sorting mail with the help of a computer.
Recently Hines and Mathias were among the honored guests during a ceremony sponsored by DRS and the Department of the Visually Handicapped.
Nine people, whose disabilities range from impaired eyesight to multiple sclerosis, were given certificates for their training and work accomplishments. Several businesses also were honored for hiring disabled people.
John Vaughan, commissioner for DVH and the ceremony's guest speaker, told the more than 100 guests that hiring disabled people makes good business sense.
"You will find, as many of you have already, that these people have learned to adapt - that makes them good workers."
Postal service representative Robbin Lovelace said her company fully enjoys the assets of its disabled employees.
"We've worked with [DRS] for years, and it's worked out wonderfully," she said.
Through a sign language interpreter, Hines and Mathias said the toughest part of their job was typing in zip codes fast enough to pass the postal service training.
"We had to have 95 percent of the codes right during a 60 minute test," Hines said.
Others who were honored are not working yet, but are hopeful that the skills they learned from DVH and DRS will attract employers.
Pat Collier, who had been a registered nurse at Community Hospital until her eyesight worsened, came with a resume in hand.
With a visually enlarged computer screen that also has voice enhancement, Collier said she hopes to easily excel in some sort of customer service work.
In his speech, Vaughan said such adaptive technology usually costs about $1,400, far less than the cost of government-supplied disability funding.
"This technology allows disabled people to do almost anything. ... I urge all of you to give folks a chance to show what they are able to do," Vaughan said.
Other disabled people honored were: Martha Guilliams, Susan Johnson, Mack Chambers, Robert Hairston, Don Oxley and Suzanne O'Connell.
The employers recognized were: Roanoke Memorial Hospitals, Roanoke College, Retired Persons Center, ARC-CHD Industries, American Manpower Technologies, Hardee's Capabilities Programs/Boddie-Noell Enterprises Inc., Goodwill Tinker Mountain Industries, Orkand Corporation, Perfection Auto Body and the Brambleton Avenue Pizza Hut.
by CNB