Speaker 0 00:00:00 Okay.
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Speaker 0 00:01:34 Um, good evening. Thank you for joining disability and progress, where we give you, bring you insights into ideas about and discussions on disability topics. My name is Sam. I'm the host of this show. We have many people on tonight. We have Charlene. I am here. Oh, excellent. And bill. Hi. Hi bill. Thanks so much. Bill Schultz is with opportunity partners. Bill is the president and CEO of opportunity partners and Lisa Marie Heinz. Do we have her? We don't have Lisa yet. Uh, how about, um, Ashley or Michelle? Oh, hello. I am here. Which one? Lisa? Lisa Marie. Okay. Lisa Marie Heinz. Lisa is employment specialist at opportunity partners. And do we have Michelle? Yes. And Michelle Pearson, who is, um, served by opportunity partners and your team member at, um, Arby's right? Yes. Also Ashley, do we have Ashley Pearson?
Speaker 2 00:02:44 Merit.
Speaker 0 00:02:45 Merit. Oh, I'm sorry. Okay. Ashley merit. Yeah, I saw the last name on there. I was like you two aren't related. Are you, um, and Ashley merit served by opportunity partners and she's a sales associate, um, at Maurice's, but maybe she's not with us yet. Well, let's start out at least by, um, just asking a couple of questions. We'll start out with you, bill. Um, what does opportunity partners do and what's the mission of the organization?
Speaker 3 00:03:22 Yeah. Uh, firstly, I'm thanks for having a sign. We're super proud to be here. And our mission is to advance the quality of lives for people with disabilities. So we support, um, adults with intellectual developmental disabilities and a wide array of services, including, um, vocational enrichment and residential and community living.
Speaker 0 00:03:44 Um, and then, so what types of support or services does, um, opportunity partners offer?
Speaker 3 00:03:53 Sure. So we do, um, you know, um, a large number of people we serve about 1200 different people. We got started back in, um, 1953 where a, a group of parents, um, started, uh, bought a small house in Richfield, Minnesota. And, uh, back then, you know, parents were really encouraged to, if they had a child with a disability, they're encouraged to put them in an institution and these parents didn't want to do that when they became teenagers, they knew how important work was for, for those folks. So they bought this house in Richfield, started opportunity workshop, went out to local businesses and found work and brought that back to their folks. Um, and that's really kind of our origins. And then about a decade later, they actually placed their first person in a community job. So the folks we have on today, um, with Ashley, Michelle, um, they work on the community and then they have, um, a job coach like Lisa Marie.
Speaker 3 00:04:48 So, you know, everybody has their own support needs. And we work with the business partner to set out a plan to help individuals be successful in whatever supports they might need. Um, and obviously what the business needs. Um, there's a lot of demand obviously for labor right now. So, um, people are really excited about, uh, this untapped pool of potential workers and we also do residential services. So we have group homes where people live. Um, you know, there's about four people in a group home and they have a staff 24 7 there to support them. We also have apartment complexes where people live more independently, but there's a staff available for them 24 7. And we also support people in their homes. And then we have, um, four locations around the twin cities. Then people come to us, they either come to us for work or they come to us from enrichment services. Um, we also do enrichment out in the community and we also do employment in the community where we have a coach with them during the whole shift. And you will have a team of two to four people working, um, at a wide variety of different businesses doing a wide variety of different work.
Speaker 0 00:05:50 Excellent. Um, so give me a little bit of history on opportunity partners.
Speaker 3 00:06:00 Yeah, so, like I'd mentioned, uh, we got started back, um, working on 70 years, which is really excited and, um, you know, there again, there weren't really opportunities for people with disability. So these parents really were champions of their, of their kids and, and formed this organization. And then we slowly grew. Um, and then in the seventies, when, um, there were folks with disabilities living in larger institutions like Clara adore, um, and the state closed those, we opened up a bunch of group homes to accommodate, um, people that had their living needs that needed to be met, uh, in a new setting. And then we've evolved that into, um, living in apartments. And also we support people in their own homes, whether it's with job development or budgeting or cooking or socialization, there's a wide range. So we just support, you know, one of the things I love about opportunity partners is the variety of folks we support and just the full spectrum of services we offer to meet their needs. So we really try to aim at what the individual wants and, um, develop plans to meet their goals, whether it's employment or Richmond or just, uh, socialization.
Speaker 0 00:07:12 So I'd like to jump to Michelle and Ashley and ask them if they wouldn't mind telling me a little bit about, um, their job and what they do, who wants to go first,
Speaker 4 00:07:25 I will,
Speaker 0 00:07:26 And state your name for us. So people get used to your voice. Great. Tell me about your job, Michelle, and what you do.
Speaker 4 00:07:36 I work at Arby's and I claim the restrooms, a lobby sweep and mop and stock.
Speaker 0 00:07:47 Excellent. You do a lot.
Speaker 4 00:07:49 Yup.
Speaker 0 00:07:52 And Ashley is she wonder if she's muted? Um, so how long have you,
Speaker 3 00:08:02 Ashley's not muted, but she's having some technical difficulties.
Speaker 0 00:08:05 All right. Um, and so it's not on my end. I hope
Speaker 3 00:08:10 Not that I can tell
Speaker 0 00:08:11 Michelle, um, tell me how long you've been working at Arby's now
Speaker 4 00:08:17 Nine years.
Speaker 0 00:08:18 Wow. That's a long time. So you must know everyone there. Yes. Yeah. Do you do make any really good friends in working there?
Speaker 4 00:08:27 Yes.
Speaker 0 00:08:28 So how did you, how did you get the job and, and what did, how, what did opportunity partners help you with
Speaker 4 00:08:37 A staff member helped me get the job.
Speaker 0 00:08:41 And how did, like, what kind of things did they do for you to help you?
Speaker 4 00:08:46 We do the interview and, um, and be at, you know, everything.
Speaker 0 00:08:56 So do they, does opportunity partners still help you with your job after nine years?
Speaker 4 00:09:02 Yeah. I'm still at IVs and I have a job cards comes out once a month or once a week, I mean, sorry.
Speaker 0 00:09:09 Okay. And is that really helpful for you? Yes. You must be old hat by now though, you know, everything right. Because do you have, do they do, do they run out of things to help you with
Speaker 4 00:09:22 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:09:24 Of that? They do. Um, so tell us, like, why you think the team member, um, workplaces so great. What, what, what, what is it that you love most about your job?
Speaker 4 00:09:40 Meet new people. Yeah. And new boss.
Speaker 0 00:09:45 Did you get a new boss recently? Yeah. Do you, is that hard to adjust from one boss to the other or is that pretty easy for you? Yeah, it was hard. Was it, did you really like your other boss? Yeah. Yeah. And it's always something different than ha so you gotta, you gotta get used to how they work and how they interact with you.
Speaker 4 00:10:09 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:10:10 Um, and so what's your favorite part about your job?
Speaker 4 00:10:17 I lost my job a year ago, con Colvin and everything else.
Speaker 0 00:10:26 So are you back working there again though? Yes. Okay. So it had a shutdown for a little while.
Speaker 4 00:10:33 Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:10:36 Yeah. But you got it, huh? Yeah. So what if I could ask you what your favorite part of the job is? What is it?
Speaker 4 00:10:46 My favorite job is like sweep and mop
Speaker 0 00:10:48 And we've been more get cleaning in those bathrooms. We all love clean bathrooms and restrooms, believe me. Um, and what's something that you have learned at your job that you think would have been hard to learn if you hadn't had your job?
Speaker 4 00:11:09 Good customers?
Speaker 0 00:11:11 Ah, yes. Dealing with customers. Yeah. Good customer service. Okay.
Speaker 4 00:11:15 Yeah. We had to do survey online, you know?
Speaker 0 00:11:21 Uh, do we have Ashley yet or is she still working on it? Yes. Ah, Ashley. Hi, Ashley. I'm so glad that you, um, joined us tonight. You work at a Z is at Maurice's Maurice Morrissey's. Tell me about what you do there. And, um, you know, tell me a little bit about the job and what you do.
Speaker 5 00:11:53 Basically. I'm a sales associate.
Speaker 0 00:11:55 I hold on customers
Speaker 5 00:11:58 Find new.
Speaker 0 00:12:00 Um, Ashley, if you have computer speakers up, I'm going to ask you to tune your speakers down. You must have a radio or something on, I'm going to ask you to turn your speakers down cause it's feeding. Okay. So what do you do at your job? Oops, I can't hear her now. Um, when you get on Ashley and you feel like you're, you've got it. Okay. Just say I'm ready or something. And I'll ask you your questions. Um, bill, I want to go back to you and, and you were talking about that opportunity. Partners serves a lot of people and I'm quite sure that COVID really affected things. Um, how did that change for both opportunity partners with the work workers and with the people that, with disabilities, that opportunity partners serves?
Speaker 3 00:13:07 Yeah. You, your spawn is impacted. Every one. Of course we were actually, we had to close our organization for a period of three months. Um, so, um, the people that we support more able to come home or come in, they had to stay at home or wherever their, their living arrangements were. Um, and then we had several businesses that close our operations because we work in large businesses, like general mills headquarters and best buy, um, Medtronic, Boston scientific, and they didn't have employees coming in. So there wasn't work. And then obviously health concern just of the people that we support. So it was really largely idled. We had a few and then slowly people would come back. You know, we were so rigorous working with our safety protocols, um, that, uh, we were really good at managing that and keeping any kind of infections down. And we're very proactive on the forefront vaccinations. So, oh, we can hear you now actually
Speaker 0 00:14:05 Now. All right. Give me just a minute. Ashley's we'll let bill finish and then we'll come back to you.
Speaker 3 00:14:18 Yeah. So, um, slowly we were able to get people back and then people that were working, um, in the community like Michelle, you know, Michelle was, um, also impacted by COVID and then lost her job after awhile. Um, and then other people were able to come back. So like Michelle, she got her job back. She was pretty darn excited. I remember seeing her do that. She was at our gala, she was a special guests or a gal and just, you know, got her job back right around then. So we got to celebrate with her, um, that, and uh, some people though, they, they worked through it. We have a team, we have a support employment team where we work with a job coach and we work at a nursing home. Um, and, uh, they needed us. So, you know, it was up to the individuals if it was safe for them to work or not based on their health conditions. So slowly people would return, but there's been a long-term impact. We had to, um, have some furloughs and we've had a hard time recouping our staff. So there's still, you know, we probably were serving about 1500 people before the pandemic and we were about 1200 now. Um, and we have quite a few people on our waiting list as we are working to hire more and more people to, you know, be like Lisa Marie and help people get those jobs and work on our support employment teams and work at our different work centers.
Speaker 0 00:15:33 Thank you. We'll be right back to talk with, um, Ashley and Lisa Marie, but first we're going to take a little start shit, short station break, and we're going to also let everyone know it is pledge drive and you may help by calling 6 1 2 3 7 5 9 0 3 0 6 1 2 3 7 5 9 0 3 0. Um, I don't want Miguel to get bored, so, or you can go to cafe.org, which is a safe and secure website and donate as I will be doing after the show. Um, we need to hear from you and we know you are on, on, and some of you get have been hosted on here. So please feel free to support us and we'll be right back
Speaker 7 00:16:19 Programming on KFC supported by Metro transit. Metro transit now offers use of an app that connects blind and low-vision customers to a live agent for navigation assistance during transit trips, more information at Metro transit dot O R G slash a I R a
Speaker 0 00:16:48 And you're tuned to disability progress that wasn't supposed to happen yet. And this is disability and progress. And, um, my name is Sam and this is also during our pledge drive. You can join us by supporting us by calling 6 1 2 3 7 5 9 0 3 0, or going to cafe.org and support us there. We're here with opportunity partners and several people with that. Um, let's start with you, Ashley. Ashley, you've been so patient with waiting. Um, hi. So tell me Maurice fees. Tell me again what you do at Morrissey's.
Speaker 8 00:17:28 I am a sales associate slash stylist.
Speaker 0 00:17:31 Okay. So I didn't even know what Maurice was. Was that a hair salon?
Speaker 8 00:17:36 It's actually a clothing store for zero through 24.
Speaker 0 00:17:42 Oh, wow. And, um, so tell me what you do basically
Speaker 8 00:17:49 Just called customers. Find outfits, put outfits together for customers just to check in on the customers when they're in the fitting room, see how they're doing and everything. Yeah. If they need a bigger size and everything right now, we have a really huge deal going on on all of our jeans is buy one, get one 50% off.
Speaker 0 00:18:09 Excellent. Good plug there. Good plug for your store. Um, how long have you been working there?
Speaker 8 00:18:18 Little over since the, towards the end of last month.
Speaker 0 00:18:21 Oh, so you're new. Yes. Are you liking it?
Speaker 8 00:18:26 I love it.
Speaker 0 00:18:28 So how talk about a little bit about how you got the job and how opportunity partners helped you with that?
Speaker 8 00:18:35 I basically went on indeed. One day just was lucking and I applied and I talked with my job coach that following Friday, and I was going to call the places that I applied to. And Maurice is actually called the me cool before I called them. And it seemed a very good, fun, it's a very good and fun environment to be working in. And basically when ever I needed, I didn't really need very much help from oldie getting this job. I pretty much did it on my own.
Speaker 0 00:19:10 Excellent. It's good to know. They're there though, huh? Yes. And so tell us, you know, like at, at your, do you have any favorite people? I mean, you're just getting to know people, but have you, do you feel like you're going to make friends with some of your coworkers? Uh, excellent. And what's your favorite thing about your job? Oh, yes. It discounts. I used to work at Dayton's when Dayton's was here, you guys must all know Dayton's and I loved the discounts. It was great. So, um, what's something new that you've learned at your job that you think you maybe wouldn't have learned if you didn't work there,
Speaker 8 00:20:01 How to fault the clothes? Ah, there are certain styles, certain ways that they have clothes folded, like our t-shirts. We have them in like a box fold. Yes. Are long sleeve shirts. You can either do a box fold or you can do a hot dog full.
Speaker 0 00:20:17 Oh, okay. Um, so I guess what, what do you think that, you know, if you could have, um, opportunity partners to help you with something that, that, what was your, you know, the best thing they helped you with when you were getting,
Speaker 8 00:20:39 And this part that I need that I needed sense. I lost my current
Speaker 0 00:20:47 Job. Uh, and what, what, what did you use to do? I used to work at dominoes. Oh, okay. Jeez. Another good job. I'm hungry too. I didn't have dinner now. I'm not now I'm thinking of pizza. Okay. Thank you.
Speaker 0 00:21:06 So I'm really glad that you guys have your jobs. Did you guys, both you and Michelle, did you guys know that this is, um, October is, um, disability, employment awareness month? Did you know that you didn't? Well, now you do. So it's national disability employment awareness month. So, um, I think it's so fitting that you just got your job and that Michelle's been working at hers for like a long time. Yeah. So good for you guys. I, I hope, you know, you continue to do that and that you're really happy with it. And, um, and want to go a little bit and talk to, uh, Lisa Marie. Lisa can tell me a little bit about what it is that what your role is at opportunity partners and what does a typical day look like for you?
Speaker 9 00:22:07 My role at opportunity partners is employment support specialist, and then to obtain and maintain individual employment opportunity opportunities in the community and atypical day they're top with, uh, phone calls, text messages, emails, um, and then conducting job site visits. Uh, if the individuals employed in the community, um, I was able to see Ashley about a week ago, um, at her job, um, and was able to communicate with her manager and she was just doing excellent. Um, and then after conducting that job site visit, um, when Ashley was done with her shift, she was able to call in, text me, um, and update me how that went for her. And, um, and if she's got the required support she needed from me for the day and how I can support her for the following week. Um, so that's how a typical day goes, um, meeting with my individuals and following up with that,
Speaker 0 00:23:14 What other types of training might you provide with the individuals?
Speaker 9 00:23:21 Uh, the type of training, um, that I would provide with my individuals, uh, would be to review the resume. Um, I've reviewed, Ashley's resume, um, even feedback. Um, and, uh, anything else, like if Ashley has a, um, a concern or a question, um, she's going to be doing registers, and that was one of the things that Ashley asked me before the shelter. Um, are you able to support me when it's my turn to work the registers in a week or two? And absolutely I will schedule that to be there to ensure that, um, she's comfortable and confident in her position and to be able to maintain that independently
Speaker 0 00:24:09 And do, do some help with interviewing skills as well.
Speaker 9 00:24:14 Absolutely. Um, so going over interviewing questions and answers, um, that would be most appropriate for an interview. Um, giving the general answers, good answers, positive answers, and providing that confidence for, um, our individuals to do that independently.
Speaker 0 00:24:38 Excellent. Um, what are some of the challenges that you and the, both you and the individuals find that, um, you guys encounter when you're working with employment and managers?
Speaker 9 00:24:56 Uh, the biggest challenges is transportation and location. Um, like maybe their residential locations, um, the transportation, um, sometimes if it's slightly outside of the Metro area that need the challenge and coordinating that to ensure that they can get to and from, um, their interest of employment, um, that would be the biggest, um, communications with managers. Um, the difficult would be to explain, um, what's best effective for the individual.
Speaker 0 00:25:37 Oops. Are you there? I think I just lost you. Well,
Speaker 3 00:25:45 It looks like she had a little internet problem.
Speaker 0 00:25:47 Yeah. Hopefully she'll come back in, but while she is working on that, um, bill, how let's see, we talked a little bit about the change with COVID and how that is. And I know there's been, you know, you're not the first type of program that's been on here. That's talked about it's the hiring problems that they have had. Have you, do you feel like that's been difficult for you guys is actually finding the people that, that were willing to work to do this?
Speaker 3 00:26:22 Yeah. You know, to find the folks likely summary too, to support Ashley and Michelle are, and, you know, it's our biggest challenge and we have, um, hundreds of people actually on our waiting lists, um, for our variety of services to come in that we're just trying to, to hire people. You know, we need to hire probably around 90 people between our residential and employment day services. And it's just a challenge. We've raised wages and we have a lot of flexibility. We have, um, you know, I know at least Marie, one of the things she loves is the flexibility of her job. And we tried to do that as well. We have, uh, some jobs, um, you know, you can work virtually, um, or a hybrid. Uh, we actually even created a new virtual service because of COVID because people still needed to be checked in on. And, you know, there were a lot of impact on mental health during COVID for everybody. And that doesn't exclude people with, um, disabilities. So, you know, it's good for them to connect and see their friends, even if it is over zoom. So those were important things, and we just need more people to provide those services. And, you know, it's, it's not like any other employer that they're struggling to, to find people to come in and do the services that they offer.
Speaker 0 00:27:36 Yeah. I, I can imagine that this is, gets to be pretty tricky. Um, what is the first step for an employer who wants to, you know, start hiring people, served by opportunity partners.
Speaker 3 00:27:54 Yeah. They could call our main line or email us and fill it opportunities that work, and we just need to connect with them and see kind of what they're looking for. We have, like I said, um, a wide range of skillsets for people that come to us and they could be like Michelle or Ashley. And if this employer wants to direct hire, we have lots of opportunities there and we can see if it's a good fit, because we really do focus on, you know, what are Ashley's goals? What are Michelle's goals? What do they want to work? And we try to find those employers that are in that, in that area. And it's good to know if there's somebody out there looking and we might find a match. We also, you know, we have a team that will talk with the customer. Maybe they need a, a whole team of people.
Speaker 3 00:28:35 So that might be with one of our support employment teams. And we come out and kind of just make sure it's a safe environment and it's good work. And we talk through that and we understand what their needs are. And again, transportation like Lisa Marie said is also a big challenge for that as well. So we, we figure that out. Um, and then sometimes employers just, you know, they can't hire anybody and they just want to send it out. So, um, we have a lot of people, um, we have, uh, the largest number of new customers ever for people sending work to us as well, so they can send it to one of our facilities where people with disabilities, uh, provide the packaging or assembly work.
Speaker 0 00:29:12 Right. Um, so I would like to ask, um, Michelle and Ashley, cause you guys really have, um, you know, been working now Ann and Michelle, you for a long time. Do you remember when you went to apply for a job and you could answer this probably right away, Ashley, but we innervates at all. Did you, yeah. Did you wonder about how you would approach the idea that you had a disability with your, your boss?
Speaker 4 00:29:49 Not really. Not really knows.
Speaker 0 00:29:51 Yeah. So the opportunity partners probably helped you with that. Yeah. Excellent. And, um, how about, how about you Ashley?
Speaker 8 00:30:02 No, not really.
Speaker 0 00:30:05 Did you, when you're in a job setting, I'm just curious because you know, people handle when they talk about their disability differently. Right. So when you approach somebody to talk to them about it, do you, are you just, do you find that they're just really accepting if you're right upfront about it and just tell them okay.
Speaker 8 00:30:25 Yes. My boss, when I had my interview, my boss was very understanding that it does take me longer time to learn stuff like for the register. When I started that it would take me a longer process, longer time to learn everything on there. They knew probably take somebody else to learn.
Speaker 0 00:30:46 And, um, Michelle you've had your job a long time, but I presume that they have you do new things and they kind of approach you about doing new things. Do you like to learn new things? Yes. Does it make you nervous at all or is it pretty easy for you?
Speaker 4 00:31:02 Well, make me nervous. I, I want to try and learn. Cashier is hard to do.
Speaker 0 00:31:08 Yeah. Yeah. But, um, I'm sure that you've just learned a whole lot about, you know, things with that you're doing now. And so Lisa, I do want to ask about this because this is a topic that not just, you know, through, you know, this type of job setting that I, I do hear about, but anybody with a disability that it is a little bit daunting or can be sometimes to deal with approaching, you know, people about their disabilities. So talk a little bit about how you guys do that at opportunity partners.
Speaker 9 00:31:46 Well, how I approach it is emphasizing on their abilities versus referring to their disability.
Speaker 0 00:31:55 Okay. And then, um, talk about how do you help people set and reach their personal goals for employment
Speaker 9 00:32:08 Emphasizing on their skills, um, advocating for their, wants the needs, um, in, in the employment.
Speaker 0 00:32:22 And then do you, I mean, are there favorite parts of the job that you really, really enjoy it the best
Speaker 9 00:32:33 For my role? Yes. For yours as an employment specialist, correct. Oh yeah. Theme the change in their life, in my individual's life.
Speaker 0 00:32:45 And when you, when you find that somebody is having a challenge in work in the job, do they usually tell you, does their manager tell you what, how, how does that work?
Speaker 9 00:32:59 The individ individuals will tell me they will come to me and tell me what their struggles are. Um, sometimes the managers will pull me aside and, um, and address the concerns. And then I go back and work with the individual, um, to improve the skill that is needed to, um, have that work performance increase.
Speaker 0 00:33:23 So tell me about, in your opinion, you know, how hiring people with disabilities makes workplaces better, maybe you can share some positive, um, things that you've, you've heard and seen
Speaker 9 00:33:38 The positive things for hiring, um, is the retention and the re uh, reliability, um, the inclusive of the word culture and ability awareness, um, that there's an increase in dedication. Um, there are studies in the us that, um, shows there's a better retention rate.
Speaker 0 00:34:00 Yeah. And do you suppose it's because they people realize that it is harder to get, you know, jobs or what do you, what, why do you think this is,
Speaker 9 00:34:13 Uh, can you please receive that? Sure.
Speaker 0 00:34:15 So that there's a better retention rate for people who often have disabilities in their workplace. Um, why is that? Do you think
Speaker 9 00:34:26 The individuals that I serve, um, they want that quality of life enhanced self-confidence, um, VX banded, social, um, network and participation and the sense of community. I think the biggest part is that sense of community.
Speaker 0 00:34:43 Yeah. Yeah. And what did you do? Like when it was COVID, what was that like for you? How did you help the individuals? Cause I know, you know, we were talking about that. Some of them really did lose their jobs, but some of them may be kept going. Um, how did you help them kind of keep that sense of community
Speaker 9 00:35:05 Staying connected with them? Uh, we did zoom calls, phone calls, text messages, daily check-ins. Um, they were very understanding when I had to work remote and they may have been out on the field. Um, so, you know, phone calls with employers to see where they were at making those accommodations, um, for the individuals that had to work or be at, be remote, um, in keeping that communication open.
Speaker 0 00:35:43 So for you as an employment specialist, talk about how like coworkers and managers and employers, you know, can help create more supportive and inclusive work environments for people with disabilities
Speaker 9 00:36:03 By keeping that communication open.
Speaker 0 00:36:07 Do you think that, um, I mean people with disabilities, I sometimes hear that they, um, you know, that they, they do great and their jobs and they get along well, but the whole connection and friendships, is it a little bit of a different platform and that sometimes is harder. Is there anything that you'd suggest to kind of help that along
Speaker 9 00:36:36 The suggestion I would have was to maintain that support?
Speaker 0 00:36:43 Um, so bill, how can communities help co you know, become involved with opportunity partners?
Speaker 3 00:36:53 Yeah, there's a lot of good ways. And I just want to go back to that couple of questions. You had one, you know what? We hear a lot too, from our support employment teams where we'll have a group, there is obviously businesses are hiring our folks because they have work to do. Um, and one of the kind of surprise benefits that I often hear from customers is the positive impact that, um, our teams have on the culture of the organization. You know, their, their team is interacting with our team and how often we're commingled, um, and just the positive, um, you know, feelings that people have getting to know, um, the different people, their personalities, it demystifies it so much, you know, with maybe someone that doesn't have a friend or family member that has a disability, they get to know somebody and, you know, they're just, we're people and we all are unique.
Speaker 3 00:37:43 Um, and there's just, you know, a different layer of complexity, but these individuals. So I think that takes away a lot of mystery for folks. And I think, you know, one of the things we always encourage that we talk about employers to help them, um, integrate in. It's just, you know, you have a, a barbecue, or you have a chili cook-off or you have some event, or you have birthday cards include, include the teams in those events because that just helps them bond and not, not feel a little bit different. So getting back to your, your more recent question, there's, um, different ways that people can get involved, obviously with opportunity partners. Um, there's give to the max stake, which cause coming up, obviously you're in fundraising mode and that's an important factor for us as well. So that's November 18th. Um, so give them in and look for opportunity.
Speaker 3 00:38:35 Um, we also have a volunteer program, um, that, uh, you can go to our website and learn more and find out what those opportunities are for four groups or individuals and people to, to know Nate, their skillset to us as well. Um, we'll have our annual gala, which is our biggest fundraising event on May 14th, um, in 2022. And we're really hoping to share we'll be, um, virtual or some combination thereof, but of course, you know, employers can always reach out to us. Like I said, at info at opportunities that orgy and, um, we can see if we can help, uh, get somebody employed.
Speaker 0 00:39:09 And when they do bill, in your opinion, what, what do you see that Y Y managers and, and such should hire people with disabilities?
Speaker 3 00:39:22 Yeah, again, I think what, uh, what, what they learn and what Lisa Marie says is there are some great workers. Um, people are committed. They, you know, we all take work in our pride, in our, in our work. And, um, people with disabilities are no different and they want to do a good job. They want to, um, show up. And I, I think you'll see that commitment because folks aren't often given an opportunity and when they give, you know, that the, um, it's really a good feeling for them and they want to see it. And we do see a lot of longevity. Um, but you know, businesses also hire our folks because they have a bottom line. It's not, um, it's not a philanthropy that, that they're hiring our folks, it's they have a job. So we need to make sure that, um, you know, the folks who are, have the skill sets and work with them to train them and support them to make sure they are doing the work, whether it's, um, you know, Michelle at RBS or one of our support employment teams, like at, um, uh, general mills,
Speaker 0 00:40:21 I wonder, you know, and I think I've heard this through a lot of businesses that, um, you know, the customer service and, and, um, places I had, like in hotels and front desks and things like that are really struggling now, um, you know, to find people. And I wonder if that has made a difference in the response that you have gotten from people, as far as maybe they're willing to give people a little more of a chance. Maybe they're willing to be a little more patient, maybe they're willing to say, you know, I really should, you know, do something and like this and see the benefits. Have you noticed any difference?
Speaker 3 00:41:05 Oh, for sure. I mean, I think there's some employers that are, you know, scouring all kinds of new, um, ways to, to find potential employees and some are becoming more and more aware of people with disabilities and reaching out and finding out those, um, you know, is there a fit for what those needs are? So, yes, there's certainly, um, a big, um, demand for that. And I think that's why we have such a waiting list right now. And it's this kind of a catch 22 because we can't hire enough people to get people employed. But, um, there's so many opportunities to, because every employer is struggling to hire people. So, um, hopefully, you know, it will, this opportunity will create that awareness and say, oh my gosh, this is just so important to make sure that we're including people and that people with disabilities are thought about when people think about diversity, equity and inclusion, um, that that's, that's another important group to consider when, when you're trying to grow your team, because there's a lot of value that, uh, that we, we bring, um, for folks to think about, um, their work differently.
Speaker 0 00:42:11 Michelle and Ashley, are you still with me girls? Yes. So if you could have, is that Ashley? Yes, it is. Ashley. If you could have your dream job, what would it be? Oh, that's going to be nice feeling for you, Lisa. Um, absolutely. Well, good for you. I hope you have a long happy work-life there. And Michelle, how about you?
Speaker 4 00:42:43 Oh, that is crushing. I like to keep my, where I'm doing right now,
Speaker 0 00:42:49 But maybe keep your options open. You never know, right? Ooh. There you go. Are you guys friends? Yeah. Oh, excellent. That's excellent. I'm glad. Are you, do you live near each other that you get to hang out or do you do a lot of zoom or do FaceTime? Oh yes. Google duo all these platforms. Fantastic. Um, bill I'm sure zoom became very, very important for opportunity partners during the COVID time.
Speaker 3 00:43:29 Yeah, it sure did. Like, um, like I said, you know, people couldn't come in and we are just, you know, being contacted by parents and guardians. And we knew from our group homes that people are really struggling and, um, you know, some people are regressing and their mental health was suffering. And that's how I know our, our team really stepped up and found ways to, um, reach out and they created a virtual service. Um, and we actually won an award from our trade organization for that virtual service. And it was really fun. You know, we have folks with again, a wide range of abilities and some, some folks I know, didn't think that their, their child or loved one would be able to, you know, manage zoom or the iPad or whatever they might have to do in. And they really did. And, um, it just, you know, it goes to show, you can't make these assumptions about what they can and can't do.
Speaker 3 00:44:18 So it's just been a real, you know, um, the different platforms for connecting. And I think that's one of the lasting transformations that we have is, um, you know, staff really likes it too. You know, people that are impacted by, you know, their family needs where their, you know, they're, they have children and they need to support them because their school or daycare is closed. Now we try to be flexible that way as well. So, you know, the zoom teams, these have all really helped us during this. And I, I know what's going to be there as we come out of it.
Speaker 0 00:44:52 I want to remind people, but we are in our pledge drive. You can support us by going to cafe I dot O R G that's cafe.org and giving whatever amount you can afford and supporting cafe and the show disability and progress. Lisa, tell me working how long, I don't remember how long you've been working here at opportunity partners.
Speaker 9 00:45:20 I've been working in my field for bout six years, um, w and been with opportunity partners for over a year.
Speaker 0 00:45:29 So working in this field and with our fraternity partners, what has this taught you personally,
Speaker 9 00:45:41 Personally, the self-determination with that any individual can have, um, to achieve their goals and outcomes.
Speaker 0 00:45:51 And I'm going to go to you bill and ask you the same thing. What has doing a job like this, you know, had made you feel personally, or learned personally that you maybe wouldn't have, if you hadn't had a job like this.
Speaker 3 00:46:05 Yeah, my gosh, uh, so much really, so, um, likely some rehab and with operatory partners for six years. And I came from, um, a long career in the for-profit world. And, um, this is my dream job. You asked shell. And, um, so I have my dream job now. So I'm so fortunate and, you know, it's, it's getting to meet all the great people like Michelle and the people that we support. And I have a niece, um, with a disability and she's actually supported by when all Elisa summaries colleagues. So I get to hear about that every week when I hear her, um, you know, meet with her and, um, hear about her great experience and how supportive we've been. And just to know the impacts that we're having for people is just, you know, really amazing. And the other thing that I really didn't expect when I came was just the team that works for us, the hard work, like the Lisa Marie's, um, that they do, they don't do this to get rich. Um, they certainly do the impact they have on, on people's people's lives. So, you know, it's just, it's just so heartwarming to meet these people that do really hard work, but makes such a difference in people's lives. So that was something that was really impactful that I didn't anticipate when I joined opportunity partners.
Speaker 0 00:47:15 Well, I want to ask Charlene, Charlene is my, um, teammate here on the show and she often helps with research and Charlene. Um, I just wanted to check to see if you had any questions for the girls or for any of, uh, Lisa or our bill.
Speaker 10 00:47:33 No, I really don't. I am so inspired by the young ladies there. You guys love your jobs and no, not everybody's can say that.
Speaker 0 00:47:44 That is very true. Actually. I think I heard one time someday, and it's true because I really love what I do too, but I, I I've had jobs where I didn't like my job, that it was a job that I went to because I needed a job and it makes all the difference in the world when you really love your job. So that's something I've been lucky to have for many years now, too. And I can tell you, it makes a whole difference on your personality, right. Um, Michelle, if you could tell what, what is your favorite thing that your coworkers do for you that, or, or that help, you know, and feel like you're included? What did they do that help you feel included
Speaker 10 00:48:35 And their
Speaker 0 00:48:35 Team. Okay. And Ashley, how about you? How do your coworkers kind of make you feel included
Speaker 8 00:48:46 Every day? My, um, like either like our store manager or one of our assistant managers after they opened the store, sometimes they'll do like a, kind of like the grading thing for us to see on like, let us know like where we're at for like credit cards, mortgages, credit cards, and all that, where we are up to, up to date up to year and all that kind of like a celebration thing that they do at my store for each person that comes in.
Speaker 0 00:49:18 Excellent. So bill again, how can people get in touch with opportunity partners?
Speaker 3 00:49:26 Yeah. So you can go to our website at opportunities that, or G or email us at info and opportunities that are G.
Speaker 0 00:49:34 And do you want to talk a little bit again about the events that will be coming up?
Speaker 3 00:49:39 Yeah, that'd be fantastic. So again, November 18th is give to the max day, so you can go to give, uh, mn.org and look for opportunity partners there and donate. Um, and again, May 14th will be our gala in Minnetonka. So we're really excited about that. And we do again, you go to the website and look at our volunteer program and always email us at info at opportunities if, um, you know, employer and looking for some help and talk
Speaker 0 00:50:05 About your gala, what happens there?
Speaker 3 00:50:08 Oh my gosh, we have great celebrities like Michelle come and tell their stories. We get to just, you know, it's an opportunity for us to tell some personal triumphs that individuals and some of the barriers that they faced and how they overcame them and how we were able to help them do that. Right. So that's, that's always the highlight for me is just hearing those individual stories from the people that we support, because they're just so heartwarming and really powerful. So it's a great night, you know, we've before, uh, COVID, we'd have about 500 people, um, and there's, um, you know, um, silent auction, a live auction, there's a meal. And did you get to hear from different families and individuals? So it's just a fun night. It's got a lot of energy and it's, it's a great event.
Speaker 0 00:50:50 Now that changed in COVID. Did you still have your silent auction?
Speaker 3 00:50:55 Yeah, we did. We did, uh, you know, the team, um, that opportunity partners, our advancement team, just, again, one of the many things we adapted to we, we created, um, a virtual gala and, uh, we had blunted Jensen was our host. And, uh, we had, uh, a live as well as, uh, the silent auction. Um, so it was, it was a great night and really they did a wonderful job, um, and on the fly. So we had to kind of adapt him, you know, it was so much uncertainty cause you just don't know. So many of these things are new and it's something new that they had to execute. And it was, it was a real success,
Speaker 0 00:51:29 No dinner though,
Speaker 3 00:51:31 No dinner, but we did that. They came up with actually, uh, a Gale on a box and options for meals that we partner with D'Amico and, and had those meals either picked up or delivered again. Yeah. I know they were really smart and, and all the different things they did to make sure that people were engaged. Yeah. Those, it was a big hit
Speaker 0 00:51:49 To make us really good too. Yes, it
Speaker 3 00:51:52 Is.
Speaker 0 00:51:54 Um, so is there anything more you want to say in regards to opportunity partners?
Speaker 3 00:52:03 Yeah. I think opportunity partners, you know, we're just committed to making sure that we're meeting the needs of people and we're advancing the lives of the quality of lives with people with disabilities. And we want to make sure that we're adapting and if you're looking for a career that makes a difference, um, come to our website and look at careers cause we have lots of opportunities for you. Um, so we'd, we'd welcome that too. Cause I think he can see the impact like Lisa Marie has seen, um, on the lives of people. So it's a, you know, it's not your typical retail job. It's uh, it's challenging, but it has a lot of rewards.
Speaker 0 00:52:37 And Lisa Marie, is there anything you'd like to leave us with?
Speaker 9 00:52:45 Well, I don't know what to say. That's okay. Um, and there's not, um, yeah, I enjoy my job and I enjoy working with my individuals every day.
Speaker 0 00:52:58 Well, that was enough praise. I think they'll keep you another year. Ashley Ann and Michelle, did you guys want to say anything before you, you leave?
Speaker 4 00:53:11 We are hiring at Arby's dot obvious.com. We are hiring
Speaker 0 00:53:21 Listen to her, the promoter. How about you Ashleigh? We're All these words.
Speaker 8 00:53:29 Any store for Marie says this, all the stores for her. He says our hiring there's two here in crystal. Well, Coon rapids that I work at the one in Northland mall and we are constantly hiring for people. We just had this week, two days ago, like two people at interview. Wow.
Speaker 0 00:53:49 So bill, what's your dream for opportunity partners in the future?
Speaker 3 00:53:56 Um, my dream for opportunity partners is again that we just continue to build the culture that draws people in that want to serve people disabilities and we're able to continue to grow. We see so many opportunities for employment and for residential, as well as enrichment, you know, more community engagement. Um, and you know, it's, it's a great organization. We're trying to continue to design and, and not be staying at to meet the evolving needs of the individuals we support and just continue to see what, what individuals and their families want and making sure that we're designing our services to meet those needs and that we're creating a great work environment where people want to come and stay and grow their career so we can continue to serve the community, uh, community for another 70 years.
Speaker 0 00:54:39 Excellent. Well, Michelle and Ashley, the best of luck and the rest of your careers. And I hope you guys just keep loving your jobs and that they stay there for you and are supportive. So thank you very much for coming on and you're very welcome. And bill, thank you for having us and YouTube and Lisa Marie. Thank you very much.
Speaker 8 00:55:04 Thank you. Thank you.
Speaker 0 00:55:08 This has been disability and progress. The views expressed on this show are not the <inaudible> or its board of directors. My name is Sam. I've been the host of this show. This has been October national disability employment awareness month. So get out there and learn about that. We were talking with, uh, bill strolls, who is president and CEO of opportunity partners. We were also talking with Lisa Marie Himes, who is employment specialist at opportunity partners and also Michelle Pearson and also, um, Ashley merit. Um, thank you very much. This is cafe 90.3 FM Minneapolis. Don't forget to pledge at our website, kvi.org, Charlene dolls, my research woman. And next week we'll be talking about protecting your hearing, which is very important. Thanks for listening. Good night.
