In Australia there is the option for disabled people to work for not for profits in what is known as supported employment. Essentially it is a social enterprise that hires disabled people and gives them additional supports to complete menial work. This work can be undertaken in conjunction with receiving a disability pension for a lower than award wage. Does an equivalent to this exist elsewhere? I’m trying to work out if it is something I can do since I can’t work normal jobs. My partner thought I was joking when I raised it with him- he still thinks I can go back to open employment.
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We have “permitted work” in the UK where disability recipients can earn a bit more by working part time than they could by not working. But it’s not always optional, sometimes they force it on people before they are ready, and they don’t do a good job of accommodating people’s mental health needs. Your system sounds more considerate of disabilities.
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I’m not aware of anything like that in the U.S. They do have a trial work period where if you make over a certain amount you are still able to collect disability payments for like 9 months. If you make under that amount it does not count against your disability payments at all. So you can work on disability in the U.S. given you do not make over a certain amount, and if you do make over that amount, you get that 9 month period on your disability payments where you can collect both your paycheck from your job and disability payments.
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That sounds pretty reasonable. I like the idea of supported employment because expectations are lower. I keep trying to imagine ways I can work again and I think if I was doing a menial job for less hours with supports in place I may be able to work. They only pay about $20 an hour which is low by Australian standards- I used to earn $55 an hour in my old job.
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I’ve worked and collected Disability for years. My first job out of the hospital was working at a hot tub place. The owners had a deal with my mental health agency to hire disabled people. The deal was that they would rotate people every three months to do do maintenance work. So me and this other guy were hired to work there for three months but the bosses liked us so much they kept us on for four years. We made above minimum wage, I think we got $4.00 an hour. This was 1983-87.
We have several options in my area for becoming employed. We have vocational programs that a person attends four days a week, 5 hours a day to get you ready for work. They hold groups, practice interviews, write resumes, teach you how to dress. They get some people jobs where the employer knows you’re disabled.
We also have employment agencies specifically for the disabled and even more specifically, people with a mental illness. The ones I went to were run by a mental health agency but I’ve found private disabled employment agencies.
We actually have several options. Another thing I tried was the Department of Rehabilitation. They were government-run agencies who assigned you a counselor who worked with you to find job that was best suited for you. They took into account your job history, the degree of disability, they found jobs that played to your strengths. They even bought me $100 worth of brand new clothes and shoes to go on interviews with.
So, I’ve had jobs where they knew I was disabled and I’ve had regular jobs that I just applied for and found on my own. My current job I got with a company who hires the disabled, we get paid minimum wage which in this city is $16.00 an hour.
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Here’s a video about one supported employer in Australia
In the US we have a law that helps the disabled. It says that an employer must allow “accommodations.” For me they have let me work 4 days a week instead of 5. Also, I belong to an agency who helps me by talking with me 3 times a month, to help with any job-related issues. They are called, “job coaches.”
We have rules about making earned income whether you have SSI or SSDI. The rules are reasonable and my job coach helped me navigate the system when I started work, but now I no longer get either of these income supports.
We have another agency called, “Department of Vocational Rehabilitation,” but in my experience they did not help much.
We used to have a used clothing store that offered part time work for the disabled but they went out of business. There is also an agency called, “Goodwill,” which trains and supports the handicapped including the mentally ill.
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Also, in the US, we have a program called, “Employed Individuals with Disabilities,” (EID), in which the government lets you keep your Medicaid medical insurance even after you start working.
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