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We want to inform and connect with the entire Job Path community
so we are all on this path together.
| | Employer highlight: 14th Street Y | | |
The 14th Street Y had a problem with "stroller parking" that parents use when dropping off their children for school and classes. Enter Alvena and Carrie, who help parents stash their gear quickly and efficiently so that it's easy to access and away from fire exits and doors.
"It had really been an ongoing dilemma but having Carrie and Alvena work as a team, it's really helpful, especially to our service desk team so they can focus on other things," says Julie Gayer Kris, Senior Director of Adult and Wellness Programs at the 14th Street Y and Sirovich Center for Balanced Living. "It makes everything in the lobby run more smoothly."
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Carrie L.
“I say good morning to the kids and parents when they come in,” says Carrie. “I like meeting new people every day, and I like seeing familiar faces.”
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Alvena W.
“I like my job a lot,” says Alvena, who also assists with bingo at the senior center. “The people are good people - they’re friendly.”
| | “This is also about creating a welcoming environment where people feel like they are known,” says Gayer Kris. “That really fits our values as an organization, and we feel good that they are part of our team.” | | |
Jake W.
At the Y, Jake helps with a weekly Zumba class and also creates content for social media, the website, and posters for awareness events.
"I love my job at the 14th Street Y because it involves helping people and spreading information, which are the best parts. Another favorite part of my job is connecting with the people I work with and help."
At the Sirovich senior center, he supports a variety of programs.
| | Jake, cleaning a mirror at the senior center. Photo thanks to Jake. | | | | On the podcast, Chu also talks about how she uses a card game to help a participant express their emotions and how one improv group class turned her own bad day around. | |
You can see all of our DSP Appreciation Week Stories
on our social media platforms.
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| | L-R Anna Witiuk, Employment; Mika Fryer, Supported Living; Frank Zagottis, Self-Direction | | It’s time to celebrate October’s National Disability Employment Awareness Month! Most of us in the Job Path community are very familiar with the benefits of disability inclusion in the workplace. | | |
Job Path’s customized employment approach works, and we know it makes a difference for our participants and employers.
- 85% of those who find work with our help stay in their role for at least a year, reducing turnover costs. About half the people we work with are earning a paycheck for the first time, and everyone we help place earns minimum wage or higher.
We’re not alone in seeing the benefits.
- Companies with high scores on disability inclusion metrics make 1.6 times more revenue and are 25% more productive versus competitors, according to nationwide workplace inclusion experts Disability:IN.
With this month of acknowledgment upon us, it’s the perfect time for everyone to be an ambassador for these messages.
Within your personal and professional networks, do you know a business that might be a good fit to hire someone with a disability? Reach out to Associate Executive Director Aimee Althoff at aalthoff@jobpathnyc.org.
Want to help spread the word? All this month on our social media platforms we’ll be sharing success stories of employers and employees, as well as facts and figures like the ones above.
Together we can shift the narrative, and shout it loud and clear that a diverse workplace just works better.
| | JP actors take to the stage | | | | Outside Voices production shines | |
Congrats to Community Connections' Outside Voices Theater Company for their amazing performances of "The Devils are Here" on Oct. 3 and 4!
The play tells the story of a neurodivergent species whose planet is invaded by colonizing, militaristic, neurotypical humans.
| | Coming soon we'll be sharing a video for those who could not make the performance. As it said in the playbill program: This is proud, disabled and neurodivergent creativity. | | Finding the funny in a role | |
Emanuel P., a longtime member of the JP community recently appeared in a production called "Postal Madness" at the Shades of Truth Theatre and Voza Rivers/ New Heritage Theatre.
"My favorite part was stepping into the role of Marty Cohen. He’s quirky, a little OCD, and always looking for clever ways to make his workday more profitable. I especially loved finding his unique laugh. It became a signature part of his character and got a great reaction from the audience."
| | | In case you missed it ... | | |
The Irish-American writer, activist, and raconteur Malachy McCourt was a longtime ally and advocate for Job Path, so it was fantastic to see the corner of 93rd Street and West End Avenue named in his honor this past weekend.
Click here for a story from The West Side Rag about McCourt, who died in 2024.
| | Thanks to everyone who came out for our Cheers for A Cause event on September 9, and thanks to Ernie O'Malley's for donating to Job Path! We hope to have more events like this in the future! | | | October: As part of our efforts to highlight and celebrate the great diversity within our Job Path community, we will be featuring racial, ethnic, cultural, and identity pride commemorations here each month. | | |
Hispanic Heritage Month: September 15 - October 15.
Heritage Months for Italian-, Filipino-, and German-American Heritage
National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Down Syndrome Awareness Month
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Staff Anniversaries
Special recognition to staff who celebrated their anniversary at Job Path in September.
Thank you for all of the contributions that you have made over the years in making Job Path successful.
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Rathida Oum - 16 years
Sandra Preti - 15 years
Susan Ladrick - 6 years
Marta Haberlin - 6 years
Hugo Serejo Genes - 3 years
Thaddeus Malcolm - 3 years
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Jennifer Hughes - 3 years
Hannah Applebaum - 1 year
Walter Goodwin - 1 year
Khalid Rahmaan - 1 year
James Sutton - 1 year
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Do you know someone who would be a great member of the Job Path team? Click here for our list of open positions in Employment, Community Connections, Supported Living, and Self-Direction Services.
| | Job Path supports people with autism and other developmental disabilities as they find jobs, live in their own homes, and become involved in community life. To learn more, visit our website. | | |
Follow us on social media. | | | | |
