Still looking for work

She wore her best outfit – a tea-length, paisley-print dress with a matching blazer in baby blue. Verdia Davis ran a hand over her neatly braided hair, inspected her clothing and let out a hearty laugh. “I love to work,” states the brochure she often hands out to potential employers.

Her resume contains a long list of attributes: dependable, good attitude, friendly. She also has a work history that spans more than a decade.

But she has yet to find a job.

Davis is 54 years old, has a speech impediment and has used a wheelchair all her life. Although she can scribble her name and recognizes letters, she can hardly read or write.

Since she was laid off at St. Vincent de Paul two years ago, the Spokane Valley resident has had a tough time finding work again. In the past few months alone, she and Craig Hansen of Skils’kin, a local organization that helps people with disabilities find jobs, have filled out more than a dozen applications at area restaurants, hotels and stores. Only one potential employer replied, but the letter contained disappointing news: The position had been filled.

Despite the gains that have been made since the Americans with Disabilities Act became law almost 16 years ago, many people with disabilities remain shut out of the workplace, according to numerous surveys and studies.

Only 37 percent of working-age Americans with disabilities are employed compared with 75 percent of nondisabled Americans, statistics show. Many are able and want to work, but the opportunities aren’t always there. Despite the tax incentive – a credit of up to $2,400 per employee – available to companies and corporations that hire people with disabilities, many aren’t willing to make accommodations. Discrimination also plays a role, some say.

“People with disabilities have something to offer,” said Linda McClain, executive director of Spokane’s Coalition of Responsible Disabled. “We’re all individuals who want to work and who should be able to work. … It’s about developmental diversity, not about a person with a disability.”

Davis’ work history began in 1993, when the Arc of Spokane helped her get a job with Agilent Technologies. For 3 ½ years, she worked with other individuals with developmental disabilities. In 1997, she was hired at St. Vincent’s thrift store, where she spent seven years sorting clothes and organizing them on racks. Store managers agreed to adjust her work schedule so she could take advantage of a vanpool for the disabled.

When she was laid off in 2004 along with others at the store, Davis was devastated. “I cried like a baby,” she recalled, “like a little, itty-bitty baby.”

She has tried to be patient, she said. Although she goes to church on Sundays and sometimes shops at a nearby convenient store, it frustrates her to spend so many hours at home.

“Work means a great deal to Verdia,” said Jeanne Loy of Enso, a local organization formerly known as the Self Determination Initiative, which helps individuals with their employment goals. “She has always been so steady and determined. She’s so enthusiastic and dependable.”

During her seven-plus years at St. Vincent, Davis called in sick only once, according to Loy.

Since she lost her job, Davis has recruited a team of people to help her find employment again. Loy, who has known Davis for many years, has helped her with her resume and career goals. Hansen – a Skils’kin vocation specialist who started working with Davis three months ago – spends many hours poring through classified ads and calling potential employers to see if they might have work for his client. At least once every two weeks, he drives Davis all over town to fill out applications and drop off resumes.

She also has received support from members of Bethel AME, the church Davis has attended for the past four years. Once a month, Una McDowell and Mary Langford – two longtime church members and community volunteers – gather at Loy’s office along with Hansen and Davis to discuss her progress and offer suggestions for the future.

“Verdi, do you want to learn how to ride the bus?” McDowell asked.

“Not by myself,” Davis replied. “I don’t know how.”

“It’s scary,” McDowell said, “but everything is scary the first time. You’ll go with someone the first few times.”

Davis shook her head.

“It’s something to think about,” Loy said, putting her hand on Davis. “You know that we believe in you and we support you. We just want you to be open to trying it.”

For nearly two hours, Davis’ team talked about other ways to maintain her independence, including finding a job and using a cell phone. They also discussed reading and computer classes she could take.

Whenever she gets frustrated, this group provides her with encouragement.

“You have to be patient; something will come along after a while,” Jean Green, her younger sister whom she lives with, often says.

Davis, who moved to Spokane when she was 13, was seriously injured just minutes after she was born, according to Green. Someone at the Arkansas hospital where she was delivered accidentally dropped her on her head. She dislocated her hips and suffered brain damage, her sister said. Instead of attending public school, Davis went to the prevocational training center. When her mother died 12 years ago, she moved in with her sister.

Since she lost her job, Green has given her money for chores around the house and to baby-sit her 8-year-old son. But she realizes that Davis would rather work part time outside the home.

“It takes time to find a good match,” Loy said. “We’re looking for a job that Verdia can do well.”

Hiring people with disabilities shouldn’t be a “charity thing,” she explained. The key is to find the right combination.

“If people are doing jobs they love and really thriving in those jobs, then everyone benefits,” she said. “That adds to productivity and the bottom line.”

It often takes months, sometimes even a year or more, for people to find work, said Scott Thurlow, program director for the Arc of Spokane. While some companies and corporations understand the value of having people with various skills and backgrounds working for them, others have a long way to go.

“There’s still a stigma surrounding people with disabilities,” he said. “Employers that don’t embrace diversity are really missing out on an untapped opportunity.”