The job hunt for clients continues

Lately I have been working on finding employment opportunities for clients during the month of June. We have found some businesses in the Bibb County region of Alabama who are hiring at the moment and most likely could help our agency of the Ability Alliance of West Alabama. Our goal is to hire at least 8 clients before the end of the year. It is challenging to do yet not as hard as you might think if you are indeed very creative and continuously pushing for opportunity. It also very much helps to have another Americorps VISTA member assisting myself in the endeavor.

Easter Seals Employment Conference Calls

The National Self Advocates Becoming Empowered Organization partners with Easter Seals Nationwide in a new grant with Developmental Disability Councils, the National Disability Rights Network, University Centers, and the ARC Nationwide. The grant is primarily about family support. Professionals dealing with employment will be informed on how people with disabilities will be needing their support. The purpose of these conference calls have been to bridge together self advocates and families. Each month on the third Wednesday of the month at 3p.m. Eastern Time conference calls will occur Nationwide.

Job coaching begins

I have begun my job coaching with one of our clients from Tuscaloosa Alabama on this past Monday May 17th. So far we have taken her around the building and gotten her acquainted with where she needs to go for doing the job tasks that she needs to do. We did that on the first day and then went through taking out garbage and doing her employee orientation as well. Also we did some sweeping the first two days that she worked. The third day which was today she picked up garbage outside of our building and swept up outside.
Also I have helped her with her job application and to fill it out properly which she has struggles with. Writing or reading does not come easy to her and I have taught her to read some more words. I expect that she will want to learn to read more as time goes on especially if is to get another job in her life. Our client that is working at our building still goes to the Tuscaloosa ARC but only for half a day for four days and one full day on Fridays. She likes the work that she is doing at our building thus far and I am glad that I am working with her to help her do a good job. It is my first time ever job coaching and it has been good so far. The Ability Alliance of West Alabama had hired her a week ago but now she is working 10 hours a week and four days a week.

The Interaction Style Assessment Test

This is a quiz administered by a career blog I have been referred to by an online connection of mine called Careeralism.com. It is a website for career advice and interview advice, resume building, and also quizzes for job readiness and personality assessment. The Interaction Style Assessment Test is administered by a company called J.T. O'Donnell and determines what kind of an interactor you are in the workplace. Are you a empathizer? Are you a energizer? Are you a contemplator? or Are you a commander? Based on the 18 question quiz I am an empathizer.
An empathizer is known to create harmonious relationships, create conflict free environments, and to seek positivity amongst all. I believe that this is an accurate assessment of how I operate in a workplace. I intend to see the emotional aspects as being more important than logic most of the time because people tend to make decisions much more so on their emotions than on their logic based on my general observations of how people act in society as of lately. This may be me generalizing a bit but there is much evidence to back this up and also the advertising World is largely based on emotions. For clarity is all knowing and wise and is seen with our dollar bill being the all seeing eye of the sun. Below are my results and the link to the 18 question two part quiz.


http://www.jtodonnell.com/assessment/index.phtml


These are what the QUiz Results of the ISAT state and I am an empathizer. The results are categorized as such:

EMPATHIZER Comfortable, casual, and organized. Fun, friendly, kind, positive, team players. Warm, sympathetic, tactful, positive,but decisive to offset your emotion and avoidance. People first, profits second. Customer service, client and/or employee relations, office improvements. Excel at key support roles and team-based project work.

ENERGIZER Attractive, comfortable, and up-scale. Fun, outgoing, competitive, positive, quick-minded team players. Energetic, decisive, positive, supportive, but tactful to offset your passion and directness. People and profits achieved simultaneously. Sales, client and/or employee training, roll-out of new products or company initiatives. Anything that involves coaching ,training, motivation and engaging others.

CONTEMPLATOR Well-organized, private, casual. Respectful, pleasant, focused, fastidious, independent workers. Logical, articulate, honest, tactful, but decisive to offset your conservatism and avoidance. Profits with ethics. Accounting, quality assurance and service evaluations need your attention to detail. Computers, financial operations, engineering, processes and systems are great fits for your style.

COMMANDER Efficient and private, up-scale. Decisive, focused, quick-minded, competitive, independent workers. Logical, decisive, articulate, honest, but tactful to offset your seriousness and directness. Profits are not personal. Management, troubleshooting, reorganization, goal-setting. Any kind of project management, facilitation, or multi-tasking that is time-sensitive or requires critical thinking.

Easter Seals Of West Alabama

Easter Seals Of West Alabama is an organization that provides transportation for those who need it and are employed with intellectual or physical disabilities with Tuscaloosa County Parking and Transit Authority. Easter Seals has a rural-urban network for employment transportation.
Easter Seals Of West Alabama
1110 Drive Edward Hillard
Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
1-205-722-1004
*Only in Tuscaloosa County

Tuscaloosa One Place

Tuscaloosa One Place is a family resource center for parent counseling, teen and child support, and four week career development classes. The career development classes focus on resume writing, work ethics, interviewing skills, and barriers to successful employment.
Classes are from Monday through Friday from 8:30 A.M.-3:30 P.M.
Referrals for career development classes are made by Department Of Human Resources for Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Tuscaloosa One Place and Family Resource Center
1(205) 462-1000
867 Redmond Drive
P.O. Box 40764
Tuscaloosa, AL 35404

Indian Rivers Mental Health Center (IRMHC)

Indian Rivers is a mental health center that provides:
-Substance abuse assistance prevention services
-An ADRS counselor will tell you when you need to contact Indian Rivers
-Medical assistance, family and individual therapy
-Indian Rivers is in Bibb, Pickens, and Tuscaloosa
-Supported employment

3701 Loop Road East Building 39
Tuscaloosa, AL 35403
205-562-3700

Ala-WIN

Ala-WIN is a work services program for individuals with disabilities. Your questions can be answered about health insurance, work benefits, employment, and social security work incentives at Ala-WIN. Ala-WIN also coordinates the Social Security Administration's "Ticket to Work Program."
202 Skyland Boulevard
Tuscaloosa AL 35403
Phone Numbers:
888-803-0118
Bibb, Chambers, Chilton, Clay, Coosa, Randolph, Shelby, St. Clair, Tallapoosa, Talledega

800-654-4483
Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Dekalb, Etowah, Jefferson, Marshall

866-259-1745
Blount, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, Walker
866-739-4366
Colbert, Cullman, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marion, Morgan, Winston

Tuscaloosa Career Center

Tuscaloosa Career Center is an employment agency that provides career services, job help, and work placement. This is a place to go if you don’t wish to receive ADRS services. This career center is a place where you can get assistance with any job or career related services that you need or require. This office operates with the state of Alabama directly and with the Tuscaloosa county region as well.


202 Skyland Drive
Tuscaloosa, AL 35405
1-205-758-7591

Palk Enterprises and Supported Employment

Palk Enterprises Supported Employment is a place where you can go for help with jobs, job coaching, and supports for jobs. An ADRS counselor will tell you when you need to contact PESE for services.

PESE building
711 17th St.
Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
205-758-1875

Alabama Department Of Rehabilitation Services

The Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services is a partnership of the AAWA and is also a place who you can contact if you need help for disability services for employment. You can still have your check if you are not on services for Medicaid/Medicare for up to 93 months after your disability benefits are finished. The ADRS service is for people with physical or intellectual disabilities who need services for employment.
VRS Tuscaloosa
1305 17th Street, East
Tuscaloosa, AL 35403

Phone number
1-334-293-7500

Portable Farms for farmer sustainability

Portable Farms is an Aquaponics farming system and Aquaponics is growing of vegetables and fish completely in water. Portable Farms Increases food security,
Offers dramatic reduction in water usage, and is Very cost effective.No chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers, nutrients, antibiotics, or buffers need to be added. Portable Farms that users buy Only require routine maintenance and
self regulate in extreme environments. A portable farm takes 25 minutes to operate daily and runs on 60 to 260 watts of electricity. A portable farm produces its own food with proper lighting and can even operate in a basement with grow lights. You can take your portable farm with you if you move to another location unlike regular farming. The video below explains in detail how a portable farm works.