Disability Inclusion Newsletter Vol.3

Welcome to Maine Medical Center’s (MMC) Department of Vocational Services (DVS), Employer Services newsletter. This newsletter will be distributed quarterly and will provide resources and information pertaining to disability inclusion in Maine’s workforce.

Disability Employment has been a focus of Maine Medical Center’s Department of Vocational Services (DVS) for over 40 years. DVS serves both job seekers and businesses. Our mission is to bridge the gap between employment and people with disabilities. DVS partners with many businesses across Maine to ensure that people with disabilities are included in the Maine workforce.

The Employer Services team at MMC's Department of Vocational Services takes a business centric approach through educating employers on the value of disability inclusion. We provide free trainings, strategies, and tools to help businesses across Maine create an inclusive work culture that includes people with disabilities.

Chris and Susan, our Employer Relations Specialists, can provide your organization with more information and suggestions on how to get more involved, please click the link below and reach out to [email protected].

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October 2022

National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Start Planning for NDEAM!

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). It is a great opportunity for companies to take some time and show their commitment to Disability Inclusion. NDEAM is organized every year by the Department of Labor (DOL). This year’s theme is: Disability: Part of the Equity Equation and the official poster for 2022 NDEAM is above. Please check out this website for more information and ideas on how to celebrate NDEAM within your companies: . Also, our Employer Relations team would love to work with you to help bring your NDEAM events to life! Don’t hesitate to reach out if you are interested: [email protected].

Learn More About NDEAM

Summer Employment Program Recap

Over the summer, MMC Vocational Services worked in partnership with the State of Maine Department of Labor’s Bureau of Rehabilitation Services to coordinate a summer work experience for students in York and Cumberland Counties. Wages are provided by the Department of Labor; this allows for the creation of job opportunities that would not otherwise be available due to companies’ budget limitations. Students were connected to jobs in their areas of career interest at a variety of different businesses in the month of July and August. This was an exciting opportunity for students with disabilities to learn more about the world of work and for many of the students to participate in their first work experience. This year there were 28 number of students that participated in the program in a wide variety of roles.

We would like to take a moment to recognize the below partner businesses that hosted students and did a fantastic job integrating them into the work environment:

Well’s -Ogunquit Resort, Motel and Cottages
Big Tree Foods
Goodwill – Biddeford
Portland Sea Dogs
Residence Inn
National Coating and Supplies
Blue Seal
Westin Hotel
Piper Shores
Inn By the Sea

If your company is interested in learning how to become a host location for the summer work experience in 2023, please reach out to the Employer Services Team.

Job Seeker and Employer Spotlight

We cannot resist the opportunity to share one more success story. This success story comes from a long-standing partnership between MMC DVS and The Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine. EJ Johnson was referred to DVS from the Maine State Department of Labor’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation with a job goal of performing physical work outdoors. EJ’s Employment Specialist, Deborah Corbeau, contacted Darius Iranpour, Building & Grounds Manager at The Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine who identified an opportunity for a trial work experience (paid by the Department of Labor). EJ did a great job performing grounds and building maintenance tasks during his trial work period with the support of his job coach, Michael Blessing. Upon completion of the trial work experience EJ was offered a permanent position! We enjoyed meeting EJ, Deborah, Michael and Darius on location (image below).

We also received some wonderful sentiments regarding the experience as follows:

EJ: “The best part of my job is preparing the museum for the children and families. My favorite activity is raking the wood mulch on the playground and enjoying the view of the train station.”

Darius: “EJ has been an excellent addition to our team. Working alongside his job coach, Michael Blessing, EJ has really grown to show a strong attention to detail, and diligence in completing tasks. Working with Debbie to facilitate EJ was a pleasure, and having the paid work experience prior to our decision to hire EJ to our team was extremely helpful to ensure we were a good fit for each other.”

Karen Johnson (Mom): “(My son)… was so happy to have this great opportunity! This new job has given him a lot of pride in himself, taught him how to be more responsible, and helped him gain a real sense of helping his community. A big thank you to Maine Medical Center’s Department of Vocational Services and the Children’s Museum & Theater of Maine!”

The partnership and collaboration between both organizations and all individuals participating has been productive and enriching for all!

Pictured Left to Right: Michael, EJ, Darius, and Deborah standing next to a colorful water works table.

Pictured EJ using a broom to wash the floor.

Training Highlight

Portland DisruptHR Event

We are excited to share the DisruptHR LLC presentation delivered by our very own Chris Hynes. On June 15, 2022 in Portland, Maine, DisruptHR LLC provided a unique platform to discuss Disability Inclusion. Hear Chris share that the largest barrier to employment for individuals with disabilities are the assumptions made by employers. This forum was a great opportunity to highlight how the Maine Business Ecosystem can transition out of a workforce shortage if businesses collectively become more inclusive for people with disabilities.

A special thank you to DisruptHR Portland ME and the innovative team at JobsInTheUS that was the catalyst for making this happen in our fair city of Portland

Please take a few minutes and view Chris’ talk

Click Here to Watch

Our Job Seekers are looking for...

MMC's Department of Vocational Services works with over 1000 job seekers a year, many of whom have a wide variety of skills, education, work histories and abilities. Currently our job seekers are looking for the following positions, among others. Please reach out to our Employer Services Team if you are actively hiring for any of these positions - [email protected].

Customer Services - Remote
Receptionist
Admin Roles
IT Help Desk
High School or College History Teacher
Childcare Assistant
Social Media Content Creator
Light Assembly
Part-time Driver
Scanning and Data Entry
Material Handling/Stocking
Entry Level Part-Time work - Remote
Entry Level Office work

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