Living in the Lehigh Valley: People with Disabilities

Hello and welcome to living in the Lehigh Valley, where our focus is your health and wellness.

I'm your host, Brittany Sweeney.

Some people may take the act of getting and maintaining a job for granted, but for others, like those with disabilities, employment can provide a sense of purpose.

According to the World Health Organization, decent work can contribute to recovery and inclusion as well as improve confidence and social functioning.

An organization in the Lehigh Valley is working to support that by connecting those with disabilities to employers.

(humming) (humming) Humming a tune, And getting his job done.

(humming) Moses Atlantic seems to enjoy his job.

It’s actually fun what I do with my hands and puts stuff away and all of that sort them by group or colors, too.

Six feet.

Atlantic is an employee at Ryder, a logistics and transportation company in Albertus.

He was connected with Ryder through the Lehigh Valley Employment Coalition, linking those with intellectual and other disabilities to job opportunities.

People with disabilities are wonderful employees.

You know, some people may wake up and say, Oh, I have to go to work today.

You know, a lot of the people we support are like, I get to go to work today.

You know, so it's it's the most untapped workforce.

And, you know, research shows, you know, that people with disabilities are great employees and it shows that it's important for health and wellness.

Jenifer Schaadt is the vice president of the coalition, made up of employers, educators and Human Service professionals who support people with disabilities in employment across the valley.

When you think about your own life and how important it is to be employed and have a purpose and meaningful activities in your life, it's the same thing for people with disabilities.

It's critical for your physical health, for your mental health in every aspect of your life.

There's no better way to enrich someone's life than connecting them to employment.

It's part of our core values.

We have many different programs and we always focus on diversity and inclusion.

He performs the same way as anyone else, and just great positive attitude doing it.

And he gets the stuff done.

This is the first time Ryder has worked with the group, and managers say Atlantic is already an asset to their team.

So that can go in.

Yeah.

He does the same job as everybody else.

He's effective.

He's positive.

Every day he comes in to work, you know, he'll make sure he says hello.

He makes sure he says goodbye.

It is like just having a person without a disability.

Not only is his employment beneficial to his employer, but it's crucial to his overall well-being.

It's very important.

If you don't have a job, you don't have a house or something like that, or money, too.

You’d be broke.

He's not at home.

He's here at work.

He has a responsibility.

He has purpose.

So for him, I think it gives him that purpose and it makes him very more positive towards, you know, every day ‘Hey, I have something to do.

I've got a job to go to I have a responsibililty, Somebody is counting on me.

So just for him to accomplish those goals every day, just gives him a positive outlook.

The Lehigh Valley Employment Coalition partners with a variety of employers from law firms to grocery stores and offers onsite assistance if needed.

And we've seen so many positive outcomes for people, you know, health and wellness, mental health all the way around, total, you know, health and wellness through employment.

It really enriches people's lives.

Enriching the lives of people like Moses and giving them purpose for a lifetime.

It's like keep moving forward.

It's like that.

The Lehigh Valley Employment Coalition also works with businesses to help them gain access to tax credits available when they employ someone with disabilities.

That'll do it for this edition of Living in the Lehigh Valley.

I'm Brittany Sweeney, hoping you stay happy and healthy.