Throughout the month of October the Rhode Island Developmental Disabilities Council (RIDDC) will be joining together with other councils across the country to promote National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). This year’s theme, as announced by the United States Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) is “Increasing Access and Opportunity.”
In a startling review of nation-wide statistics, only 44% of working-age adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) are currently in the workforce, and nearly 30% of working-age adults with ID have never held a job. Kevin Nerney, Executive of RIDDC, stated that while the numbers of individuals with developmental disabilities (DD) or ID who have held a job are on the rise, they are still woefully insufficient. “Unfortunately, of those who are employed nearly all of them are significantly underemployed in that they make barely more than minimum wage and are not employed full-time,” he said.
The RIDDC strives to provide resources and education to members of our community to help them gain meaningful employment and live independently. For the two-and-one-half years, one of the main projects of the organization has been promoting self-employment within the DD and ID community with free business classes on topics such as starting a business, creating an elevator pitch as well as developing a marketing and a business plan.
Addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic Nerney said, “during this challenging time access to resources for the DD and ID community has been extremely limited. It’s no secret that many learners – with or without disabilities – do better with hands-on and in-person instruction. We’ve been working diligently to help our community members receive the support they need while also respecting social distancing guidelines.” To that end, they’ve partnered with state and national experts who specialize in self-employment education and training for the DD and ID community to enhance their entrepreneurship program.