Press Releases

    Employers Get Help For Hiring People With Disabilities

    31 jobs in 31 days – that is the goal that has been set by Ability Beyond Disability and the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce. The two organizations have teamed up for the month of October – National Disability Employment Awareness Month – to secure jobs for people with disabilities in the greater Danbury community.

    Stephen Bull, President of the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce is leading the charge in this effort.

    “We are very excited about this partnership and helping to get the economy back on its feet,” said Bull. “Together we will be providing more jobs for more people in Danbury and at the same time offing local business financial assistance for hiring someone with a disability”.

    Through 31 jobs in 31 days Ability Beyond Disability will be offering employers the opportunity to receive partial wage and training reimbursements for working with them to hire someone with a disability throughout the month of October. Aside from financial benefits, hiring someone with a disability can positively affect business. For example, according to a National Survey of Consumer Attitudes, 87 percent of the public would prefer to give their business to companies that hire people with disabilities.

    “It really is a win-win situation and we hope that through this initiative more area businesses will recognize the benefits of hiring someone with a disability,” said Bull.

    Hiring someone with a disability benefits not only the individual but the workplace as well; it helps build a more diverse workforce, can alleviate staffing shortages and increase both morale and productivity within a company. Tax incentives and benefits are available for employers along with potential training and wage reimbursements.

    Throughout the month of October Ability Beyond Disability is celebrating National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) with a variety of events aimed at raising awareness and providing employment opportunities for people with disabilities. A wheelchair basketball tournament titled, “Hoops for Hope” will be held on October 22nd to raise funds in support of NDEAM. The tournament will take place at Danbury High School on 10/22 at 7:00PM. Tickets are $5 each and can be purchased in advance or at the door. 

    For more information on how you can hire someone with a disability at your place of business, or participate in any of our upcoming events please contact Pam Szen at (203) 826-3172.

    Ability Beyond Disability is a 501{c} (3) organization headquartered in Bethel, Conn. and Mount Kisco, N.Y. It provides a wide range of services for approximately 1,300 people with a disability that inhibits their activities of daily living -- including numerous residential alternatives, employment training, career counseling, job placement services, cognitive and life skills instruction, clinical and therapeutic support, and volunteer and recreational activities. Its services extend into much of Connecticut and the Hudson Valley, New York. For more information about Ability Beyond Disability go to www.abilitybeyonddisability.org.

     
Meet Peter “Peter became the first consumer to actually be hired as an employee at the facility. He loves his job; working as a patient transporter is everything he dreamed it would be.”