Author: Mimi Tomei
Michael Roland, left, discusses how DHHS’ Division of Services for the Blind helped him adapt to life with a visual impairment.
June 21, 2018 – Areatha Dixon, who is visually impaired, works as a residential manager at a domestic violence shelter in Alamance County. She began as a volunteer at the shelter and worked her way up to a paid position that includes responsibilities like answering crisis calls and arranging housing for the shelter’s clients.
Demetria Nickens, a vocational rehabilitation officer at the Winston-Salem office of DHHS’ Division of Services for the Blind (DSB), helped Dixon fill out job applications and gain confidence with everyday tasks like riding the bus.
“Just because I am visually impaired, my life didn’t stop,” Dixon said. “It just took another journey, and that’s the journey that I’m on today.”
Dixon’s story was just one of several celebrated at the 23rd annual C. Odell Tyndall Legislative Breakfast, held on June 13 in the cafeteria of the North Carolina General Assembly in Raleigh.
Hosted by the North Carolina Rehabilitation Association, the event featured the stories of clients of DSB and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services (DVRS), as well as employers discussing their experiences with these divisions. Several members of the General Assembly were in attendance.
Jarrad Wilkinson discussed how his life changed after he fell off his roof while painting his house. Wilkinson was paralyzed from the mid-chest down, but DVRS helped him keep his job as an IT business intelligence analyst.
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Lawanda Anderson visited Wilkinson’s workplace and worked with a DVRS rehabilitation engineer to adapt it to accommodate his physical requirements. Anderson also helped coordinate training with a certified driver rehabilitation specialist to help Wilkinson learn how to use a hand-controlled van.
“Today, I am the main breadwinner for my family,” Wilkinson said. “We just built a beautiful house. I drive myself to work, doctor’s appointments, go to my kids’ events and take my wife on dates.”
After Michael Roland’s visual impairment left him unable to work, he felt isolated. That changed when Roland’s church wanted to make their facilities more accessible and contacted Larry Schlesinger, an independent living rehabilitation counselor in DSB’s Raleigh office.
“A friend of mine contacted Larry to see what they could do at the church to help me,” Roland said. “Larry met with me and said, ‘Yes, we can help you with that, but we’re going to help you first.’”
David Tedrow received a liver transplant in 2014, but the challenges weren’t over after he left the operating room.
“The question was … how could a 60-year-old man with a fair amount of limitations re-enter the world of work and be a competitive candidate for a middle- to upper-level position?” Tedrow asked in a video aired during the breakfast.
With support from DVRS, Tedrow decided to start a business, Senior Health Insurance Brokers. Advising clients on Medicare, the brokerage has grown to serve over 75 clients and Tedrow will soon no longer need disability income.
Employers also shared successes in hiring people with disabilities.
Robert Sorochak, a supervisor with NC State University Dining Services, shared the story of a woman referred to him by DSB. She aspired to be a 9-1-1 operator, so Sorochak assigned her tasks like organizing recipes and answering phones, helping her develop skills that would be useful for NCSU dining and in future jobs.
“Sometimes, I wonder who’s leaving with more, myself or the actual employee that we’re helping, and my management team feels the same way,” Sorochak said.