July is Disability Pride Month, celebrated annually to honor the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was passed in July 1990. Around 61 million adults in the United States live with a disability. Despite the Americans with Disabilities Act, true equality has not been achieved for individuals with disabilities, especially for those of color and those whose socioeconomic situation makes access to healthcare and other services challenging. According to the American Psychological Association, “People with disabilities face systems that were not designed to accommodate all people, ranging from the healthcare system to the criminal justice system to employment and education.”
COVID-19 has of course exacerbated these obstacles. The APA states that research on past pandemics shows that disabled people have a more difficult time accessing critical medical supplies and report higher levels of social isolation. This is why the work of nonprofits like Trinity Services, the Institute for Career Development, and Goodwill organizations is so crucial. Provisio Partners was honored to collaborate with these nonprofits on their Salesforce CRM implementations.
Nonprofits Offering Hope
Trinity Services
Based in Illinois, Trinity Services provides services and support to children and adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Their mission is to help people flourish with the help of their many programs, including residential services, numerous community day services, employment services, a school, therapeutic horseback riding, respite services, a recreation center, and a range of therapeutic services. Trinity Services
Institute for Career Development
Provisio also had the pleasure of partnering with New York City’s Institute for Career Development on their Salesforce Case Management implementation. ICD, established in 1917, had the mission of helping wounded veterans of World War I improve their quality of life through vocational rehabilitation. Today, people with a wide array of disabilities or other barriers to employment come to ICD for support services, including evaluation, career exploration, direct skills training, work readiness training, and job placement. Read more about ICD’s Salesforce implementation here: ICD Success Story
Goodwill Western Missouri Eastern Kansas
Goodwill Western Missouri Eastern Kansas empowers people to discover their potential and adapt for the future through the power of work. They participate in a federal program called AbilityOne. Through this program, people with disabilities can find jobs, helping them to feel more connected with their communities, receive good wages and benefits, and become more independent. Goodwill Western Missouri Eastern Kansas
Heart of Texas Goodwill Industries
Similarly, the mission of Heart of Texas Goodwill Industries, Inc. is to facilitate change through skills training and work opportunities. Their Vocational Adjustment Training assists individuals with a variety of abilities to learn the skills needed to become ready for work. Its focus is to build interpersonal skills related to basic traits and attitudes that will lead to successful employment. Heart of Texas Goodwill
The tireless work of these nonprofits provides individuals with disabilities crucial support systems, offering them training and opportunities to feel connection with their communities and to flourish. And that makes International Day of Persons with Disabilities not just a day of observation, but a day worthy of celebration. You can visit any of these organizations’ websites to make a donation.
Source:
American Psychological Association (https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/11/feature-ada)
Marjorie lives in Saint Louis, Missouri. She received her Master’s degree in English from Truman State University. Her responsibilities at Provisio Partners include content creation and technical writing.