NYCHA Receives Award for National Disability Employment Awareness Month
National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) is celebrated annually in October to recognize the contributions of people with disabilities to the workforce. During this month, NYCHA was honored with an award from VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired for hiring and supporting a VISIONS/Services participant.
VISIONS/Services is an organization that assists people who are blind or visually impaired in leading independent lives in their homes and communities and educates the public on the needs of people who are blind or visually impaired. The award was presented to NYCHA at the “Advancing Access and Equity” breakfast on October 27 held jointly by VISIONS/Services and ACCES-VR, which assists individuals with disabilities with employment and supports independent living through training, education, rehabilitation, and career development.
“We wanted to commemorate the contributions of the employers we work with that are helping us to advance access and equity in the workplace so that our participants are being understood, supported, and hired and can live in an inclusive world and workplace,” said Deanna Calamusa, Director of Career Services at VISIONS/Services. “It wasn’t only the hiring piece – NYCHA really worked with us to figure out what would be the best position for our participant, where this person would be most successful, and made sure that proper accommodations were in place and that the individual had the support they needed to be successful.”
