Nonprofit helps people with disabilities find employment

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) – People with disabilities face many barriers in life, including going into, remaining in or returning to the work environment. One of the United Way of Madison County’s nonprofit partner agencies, Phoenix, works to eliminate some of those barriers.

“When I say the word disability, that just means a condition that impacts one or more major life functioning areas,” explained Amy Patterson, senior VP at Phoenix.

Those disabilities include but are not limited to mental illness, neurodevelopment and autism.

The organization works with the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services to serve more than 1,200 people with disabilities. Phoenix also employs more than 750 people.

“We believe that an individual who has a job has more self-confidence and is more self-sufficient,” Patterson said. “Our vision and our mission is to improve the quality of individuals’ lives primarily through employment efforts.”

Phoenix has three divisions: vocational, manufacturing and government.

Patterson explained that when someone is referred to the organization, the process starts with vocational services.

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“We look at their work history if they have one. We look at the conditions that they have, and what are some accommodations that we can provide them to be able to help them become more successful.”

Then, Phoenix provides employment opportunities for that person in the community.

Staff also go into local high schools to talk with juniors and seniors whose next step may be the world of work instead of college.

They teach those juniors and seniors work skills like arriving to work on time and interacting appropriately, along with educating them on what their rights are as a person with a disability and how to advocate for themselves.

The manufacturing team and government services have federal contracts through the federal AbilityOn e program , and a few commercial contracts as well. The manufacturing team produces items that are publicly available for purchase including hand-crafted American flags.

They also work on internment burial flags for the caskets of military men and women who have died.

Government services helps people with significant disabilities with employment, skill development, and leadership growth and development. That includes contracts like janitorial, grounds maintenance, administrative, reception and badge checking, mailroom and document destruction services.

For more information, head to Phoenix’s website by clicking here.

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