As a local non-profit providing an array of programs for those living with disabilities, Cascade Connections is proudly celebrating National Disability Employment Awareness Month this October.
Since its founding in 1992, Cascade Connections’ Vocational Services program has created more than 1,100 employment opportunities for Whatcom County’s residents with disabilities. The program finds creative solutions to increase workplace diversity and inclusiveness, pairing individuals with disabilities with local businesses.
Fitness Evolution, a Bellingham gym, is a local business that reaps the benefits of employing those with disabilities. Photo courtesy: Cascade Connections
“We help to make informed and effective job matches with the business’s needs in mind,” says Stacie Nuckolls, a Program Manager with Cascade Connections Vocational Services.
Cascade Connections supports a wide range of people seeking employment opportunities. Each person has unique skills, abilities, and ways in which they can contribute to the workforce. Individuals with disabilities can excel in meaningful employment when provided with appropriate support and opportunities.
“We are a tool to help people overcome barriers to employment,” says Erin Dahlman-Oeth, a Program Coordinator with Cascade Connections Vocational Services. “And we’ve been supporting people for more than 30 years.”
Supported employment in Whatcom County has included businesses like Haggen. Photo courtesy: Cascade Connections
Cascade Connections Facilitates Supported Employment
For individuals needing supported employment, services generally proceed in three phases: discovery, placement, and retention. “The discovery phase,” explains Nuckolls, “involves discovering someone’s skills, interests and employment goals. We make sure job seekers have a resume that’s up-to-date, a focused job goal and hours per week that they’re looking for,” she says.
Discovery can also include trial work experiences like internships, plus job shadows and informational interviews. When individuals are ready to move forward, Cascade Connections supports them with their submission of job applications and interviews, the latter of which can be fairly traditional or more customized based on particular needs.
Once someone is hired, Cascade Connections works with both the employee and their employer on the retention process, ensuring the best chance of long-term success for both parties.
Cascade Connections proudly celebrates October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Photo courtesy: Cascade Connections
The Benefits of Supported Employment
“Numerous studies have shown that employees with disabilities often have higher retention rates than employees without disabilities,” Dahlman-Oeth says. “When people have historically been excluded from the workforce, and all they want to do is participate, many people are appreciative of that opportunity,” they add. “And as long as they’re treated with respect and enjoy the work they’re doing, oftentimes they’ll stay there. So, many supported employees are very loyal.”
In 2019, a federally-based survey of businesses across the United States – on the subject of employees with disabilities – noted that one of the most cited benefits for inclusive employers was an improved image with their customer bases.
Nuckolls notes that greater diversity also often leads to different perspectives and innovation among businesses. “Ideas invented to aid people with disabilities often end up benefitting others in the workplace as well,” Dahlman-Oeth adds. “Doors that open automatically, designed to help those in wheelchairs, often benefit parents using strollers or delivery people carrying packages,” they say. “Speech-to-text and text-to-speech interfaces, initially designed for people with low vision, can help anyone who is driving or otherwise has their hands occupied.”
Cascade Connections offers businesses their support in hiring employees with disabilities free of charge, and takes a thoughtful and timely approach to doing so.
“We recognize that timing for businesses is everything,” says Dahlman-Oeth. “We like to have those long-term connections with businesses in our community, so that we can recognize when it is a good time to suggest hiring a job seeker.”
Park Bowl is another of numerous Whatcom County employers that have worked with Cascade Connections to successfully employ individuals with disabilities. Photo courtesy: Cascade Connections
HireAbility Whatcom
One of Cascade Connections’ recent projects has been the development of HireAbility Whatcom – a website designed for employers to get more information about supported employment. The project was a collaborative effort between Whatcom County Health and Community Services and local agencies like Cascade Connections. The website features examples of successful employee matches through employer testimonials and other media clips. HireAbility Whatcom is based on an existing model in the Spokane area and is directly associated with the county’s developmental disability program.
“It’s a really great way to have centralized resources for businesses looking for information on this kind of support,” Nuckolls says. “Supported employment isn’t something that a lot of people know much about.”
With the help of Cascade Connections, HireAbility Whatcom is showcasing Whatcom County’s own success stories, which include the hiring of employees with disabilities through Haggen, Park Bowl and other local employers. This month, new videos were created for the program and shown at networking events for both the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce and the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce.
“I’m excited to see the program grow and create successful employment opportunities,” Nuckolls says.
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