Category: Jobs and Employment
I wish, before beginning, to ask that if you want to discuss why I'm going this route, why I don't choose something more academic etc. that you go to the "Blind Trades" thread as I've explained alot there and I want to keep this thread for my questions on factory work. At any rate, As some of you may know, I'm interested in starting a business for making soaps, candles, and later, baskets and brooms and/or brushes. But as most people know, either from experience or just from hearing about it, starting a business is very difficult. I need to figure out whether to get help from SSI or a blind agency like The New Jersey Comission of the Blind, and then I need to write a plan and wait for any help that might be given to be authorised etc. Plus, I'm still in the lerning process both about owning a business and about how to do the crafts which I've chosen to be my livelyhood.
So in the meantime, I've decided to look for a job. Since I don't like sales and phone work, which re the main jobs available in my area for which I'm qualified (most high level ones want more than a BA) and since I love working with my hands and will be involved in manufacturing in any case once I've started my business,, I've decided to seek a factory position. But most of the ones that I've seen here are managerial/supervisory, require experience and/or sight or require you to lift heavy objects repeatedly. Yet I know that the blind can work in factories because several people here do. I know of the NIB, but only two facilities in New Jersey are listed and both are over an hour way from me. I tried writing to one, BestWork Industries, but there was an internal server error each time that I tried to send the form. So I'll need to contact them tomorrow by phone.
Is there a way of getting a list of all of the affiliates and companies associated with the NIB and do other such organisations exist? Maybe, there are some in New Jersey that ren't listed on their main site. How long are the shifts with the NIB (5, 8, 12 hours etc.) or is each agency different? Likewise, at what time does work start? Do they actually provide transportation or must you supply that? If so, can paratransit be used? How do personal days work? Do you need to call in advance to let them know that you won't be in, say next week or something, or can you call on the day of your absence and do you have to work with the NIB for a year or more to get these benefits? What about health benefits? I know that they're offered but do you have to have a certain amount of experience/time with the company before you can start using them?
For those of you who work in factory settings outside of the NIB, at what positions have you worked and how did you get your jobs? That is, did a counselor or friend help you or did you simply explain to the interviewer that you could do the job? In general, will my BA cause problems in me being hired for such a position? What is factory work like? Do you stay at a machine/task for a given number of weeks/months until they feel that you're ready for another one or do most places keep you at one type of work? Once you're experienced, do they switch you around alot? How have those of you with little to no vision managed getting around the factory with relation to obsticals, machinery and parts lying around or are such places generally clean and/or free of clutter? Do some positions exist that are manual as opposed to machine-driven or that use a machine that is generally considered either low tech or safe? I ask these last not only out of interest but incase I must seek employment at a mainstream facility. They might feel more comfortable giving me a job at a low-risk station.
Forgot to ask. In the NIB places, Is it true that they actually provide breakfast? What about lunch? In any case, how long are the meal times?
never heard of a workplace providing meals.
Neither have I until it was mentioned about NIB. I thought it was pretty strange myself.
Some of the factories do provide meals and transportation, V B I in Morristown Tennessee is one of them. There are so many questions in the first post that It will take me a bit to get it all answered, but in a few hours, I'll have it posted. I don't want to leave anything out.
No problem. I just wanted to ask everything at once incase I forgot things. I just want to have an idea of what I'm talking about before I call them. *smile*
How long are the shifts with the NIB (5, 8, 12 hours etc.) or is each agency different?
I'd say each agency is different, or at least, has the capability of being so. I worked from 7:30 Am to 4:30 PM for years, with 2 15 minute breaks and an hour for lunch. Eventually, they cut us back to 30 minutes for lunch, so we were able to get out of work at 4:00 instead. some factories do the 10 hour shifts 4 days a week, which is exactly how I'd want it. When the work load was high, we had night shifts as well.
at what time does work start? Do they actually provide transportation or must you supply that?
The plant in Moristown Tennessee does have a van service. Here in Nashville though, I took the bus until they changed the route on me. then I started using para transit, which could be a bit unreliable at times.
How do personal days work?
When I first began working, I got 4 hours of sicktime per month. After 5 years, it would go to 8. I don't remember any more than that. We did get 2 personal days per year, but that was eventually iliminated. The plant would close for a week around the first of July, and if you had been there for one year, it would be a paid week's vacation. You could take the vacation whenever you wanted, but this was the best way.
Do you need to call in advance to let them know that you won't be in, say next week or something, or can you call on the day of your absence and do you
have to work with the NIB for a year or more to get these benefits?
Though we did do a lot of NIB contracts, this was an independant Lionsclub factory, so they had a bit of leaway when making the rules. We could wake up and call in sick or whatever. It all depended on how busy we were or how much work there was to be done as to how much of a guilt trip they'd put on you for not coming in.
What about health benefits? I know that they're offered but do you have to have a certain
amount of experience/time with the company before you can start using them?
we were offered an insurance plan, and I was on it for quite some time. It wasn't available to temp workers though. In this particular factory, you worked for 90 days, and then you would be evaluated if you were interested in working full time.
For those of you who work in factory settings outside of the NIB, at what positions have you worked and how did you get your jobs? That is, did a counselor
or friend help you or did you simply explain to the interviewer that you could do the job?
I was a sewing machine opporator, mainly, though I could do just about everything in the plant. I was the one that they would put on the work that was the most behind. I could make 150 dollars a day on a really good day. I started out answering the phones, but was soon moved to factory work and I was much happier. My state counciler recommended the job for me, but when I got there, they said my counciler had not contacted them and that they'd never heard of me, so...
In general, will my BA cause problems in me being hired for
such a position?
no. They don't care, as long as you can do the job, that's all they really care about.
What is factory work like? Do you stay at a machine/task for a given number of weeks/months until they feel that you're ready for another one or do most places keep you at one type of work? Once you're experienced, do they switch you around alot?
This will probably be different for each factory and even each department or supervisor. In the beginning, I started out on just one job, but I began to hear other noises and started enquiring about the different machines, so they showed me how to use them all eventually, with the exception of a very few. If you're not a bit curious by nature, factory work will be boring, and if you don't show any interest in doing anything else but a certain job, they'll just keep you on it, providing that you're fast and that the job is plentyful enough to keep you busy. The downside to this is that when they start laying people off, the ones with the most limited skills will get the boot first, of course.
How have those of you with little to no vision
managed getting around the factory with relation to obsticals, machinery and parts lying around or are such places generally clean and/or free of clutter?
My factory was extremely cluddered, but for a long time, I had a dog, and after that, I knew the plant well enough to travel it with a cane. going without a dog or cane is not something I'd ever recommend.
Do some positions exist that are manual as opposed to machine-driven or that use a machine that is generally considered either low tech or safe? I ask
these last not only out of interest but incase I must seek employment at a mainstream facility. They might feel more comfortable giving me a job at a low-risk
station.
Some machines are lower risk than others. Folding straps and stapling them for sewing, for example, might only use a stapler. Others are higher risk, such as nylon cutters which have to be very hot, so as to burn the straps as it cuts, to seal the ends. generally, the more willing you are to use higher risk machines, the better your chances are of not being laid off when the work gets low. They might start you out on something safe at first, but once they see that you're ok, they'll begin showing you other things.
I hope this has helped you, and if I can answer any more questions, just let me know.
The hours would really take alot of getting used to for me as I'm generally not an early riser (my usual is 9 or 10 and sometimes 11 if I oversleep). But of course, I'd be willing to do it. Getting out at four isn't too bad and working only four days a week is even better, though there is the trade off of more hours in the day. The thing that worries me here is night shifts, because I have no idea how I would arrange for transportation during those hours. I'll have a difficult enough time getting it as it is. I'm all too familiar with the unreliability of Access Link (NJ's paratransit) but I'm really not sure what else I could use, unless a co-worker lived close to me and agreed to car pool. I know that the state will give money to those working or in school for someone to help with things like shopping, reading printed materials and possibly driving, but I'm not sure how many hours a week they're given and how much they get paid. But even if it's only a bit, if I can use that to help pay for a driver for a few days a week at least. That might make things easier, particularly if the job is close.
Well, I certainly wouldn't want to get in trouble with my boss for missing work. But I've also made a personal vow to never work on the 25th of March (Greek Independence Day) unless I literally have to or unless I was in Greece and we were at war, Gods forbid. Of course, I don't have to explain all of that but I do want to somehow get that one day off. I don't mind not getting paid for it but I wouldn't want to lose my job either. That's good about healthcare. While I very rarely see alopathic doctors, a dentist and a gynochologist are essential and I do see an eye doctor every two years or so just for a checkup.
You said that you could make $150 on a good day, which is an incredibly good amount for eight or even ten hours! But what were the average days like as far as pay? What would a bad day be like? Did they pay strictly by piecework or was there some kind of base sallary?
I'm really glad about my BA not being an issue. I was afraid of being turned down because they might think that I'd seek other employment the minute it was offered to me because of my background. I'm normally not the extremely curious type, but I enjoy learning new things, especially when it comes to how products are made, and would certainly be willing to expand from my first position if offered the opportunity.
My mobility isn't that great. But that usually applies only to outdoors, unless the building is huge and has many floors and twisting corridors. But if I'm dealing with a reasonably laid-out place and if I practise, I almost always learn it by heart. I wouldn't ever consider going without a cane in a factory. I'm not a lover of hospitals. lol
I'm not a dare devil but I don't mind working with things that are generally considered a bit dangerous, provided that they're within reason. I'd take a chef's knife without a second thought but would be hesitant about an electric saw without safety features. Drills etc. don't scare me at all. So I would be willing to try the more high-risk machines, provided that I felt comfortable using them. I know that people in regular factories can get laid off but is this true with ones that primarily hire the blind and/or disabled?
Helpful is an understatement! You've explained alot and have certainly given me a good perspective. Thanks for that and for agreeing to answer any other questions that I have.
Oh yes, we got laid off just like everyone else. A bad day would be minimum wage. They also knew what they were doing in this area. they had to pay you a full minimum wage week, providing that you did work all 40 hours, of course. So if, at the end of the week, your production level was below the minimum wage, they'd subsidize you. However, if you made over that amount, they wouldn't give you any extra. This might seem confusing, and I'm not a good explainer. this will make it clearer. Let's say that Monday through thursday, I was on a job that paid well. We'll say I made 120 dollars all four days. then on friday, they moved me to a low paying job, and after a hard day's work on that job, I only made 10 dollars, that would be all I got, since my production for the whole week would still be over the amount of the 40 hour minimum wage pay. And yes, some of those managers certainly knew how to cash in on this, and some did their best to avoid it, so even there, it's a 50 50 chance.
Wow what a mess! So in your sinario, you would only get paid minimum wage for that week and not extra for the days when you made the $120? That's a bit nerve-racking about lay-offs. I hope that if I get hired, they won't do that to me, particularly right away. I'd imagine that would really screw up SSI and the like, since I probably wouldn't be getting any once I started working.
In that particular example, I would still get more than minimum wage, but I would quite literally only make 10 dollars for the day I spent on the low-paying job. I would get more than minimum wage though for the simple reason that 120 times 4 would be 480, so since I already made more than the minimum, they wouldn't put anything more with it. also, my factory figured up your production average every quarter, and then if you got put on a job that paid hourly, you would get your average, if it was higher than minimum wage. However, since I only made 10 dollars that one day, it brought my average way down. It's a bit complex, and in my personal opinion, the person who ran that shop was less than reputable. This is why I say that I loved the work, but hated the politics.
So, with all of the information that I found here, as well as some common sense ideas of my own, I wrote a list of pros and cons for working in a factory. The cons were far shorter than the pros. Here they are, very briefly, since most have been discussed.
Cons.
Start early.
Night shifts.
Work during winter.
Factory may not have ac or heat.
Holiday time could be as little as a week.
I might be laid off if I stay at one work station.
Work can be repetitive.
Pros
My BA won't be a problem.
Transportation is offered by some NIB factories.
Some have ten hour work days but only require work four days a week.
Insurance plan and pention.
I could make 150 on a good day and will have a base salary if nothing else.
Some promote employees to other machines/areas of the factory.
Some machines or jobs are low risk.
I'll be working with things not people.
I could make friends.
I'll gain some experience in manufacturing.
My work is left behind when I go home.
Someone else is the boss and will deal with major responsibilities.
No computer work.
Once I wrote that list, I decided that yes, this is something that I want to do while I wait for the funding for my business to be authorised. Even then, I still need to get it off the ground, which will take time. I'm still considering BestWork Industries, but they're really far away, as I said, and I'm not even sure if they're hiring. So I started looking for mainstream factory positions closer to home. But All of the ones that I've seen online either required sight, experience or lifting of heavy objects. Then, I found a staffing agency that might be able to help me. They're called Active Staffing. They've been in the business for at least 60 years and they work with temporary and permenant positions in factory/industrial, retail, opperational and office services. They allow for total flexibility of their employees as far as work schedule and availability and specifically state that they're an equal opportunity employer. There website is here. They mostly work with the New York and New Jersey area.
http://www.activestaffing.com/
So I asked my counselor if he's ever heard of them. In any case, I intend on contacting them and seeing what they say. It really sounds good all around. I just hope that they find me a job.
Everyone specifically states that they're an equal opportunity employer anymore. That's just jargon.
but on the upside, you've written down pros and cons, the most important question of all being would you rather work with things or people. I'm much more given to things myself, the one downside to that is you can be perceived as reclusive, antisocial because you'd rather work than hob nob / go to meetings, and you may come off as rather abrupt.
However, people who love woking with people can often get misperceived as shallow, incompetent, not very technically knowledgeable, in other words can't find their way out of a wet paper bag. That being said, knowing this shouldn't really change anything except maybe bolster your confidence and help you focus.
Staffing agencies in my experience, can be really challenging for a blind person trying to get a job, though my information is about 15 years out of date on that stuff.
Back to the things and people thing, though: I'm not saying you'll be disliked: I'm rather liked by many at work, more to the point very much counted upon. Just don't try to win any popularity contests is all.
Good luck with this.
If you're worried about your SSI check, Social Security does have programs for people who want to work, so be sure to enquire. It's been years since I dealt with this aspect though.
To LeoGuardian: It would be great to make friends, of course, or at least to not have any drama in the workplace. But I'm more interested in getting the job done and in pleasing my employer so that I could keep said job. Sure, I'll be friendly, and I've been told that I'm naturally likable. But, as you said, I'm not out to win any popularity contests.
To devilish Anthony: From what I understand, the Ticket to Work program is basically one in which they place you at a job and see how you do. During that time, they stop all benefits. If you don't like the work, or can't do the work, and need to have your SSI reinstated, they'll do that. But I'm not sure about getting a regular job, that is, one not through this particular program. I don't know, for example, how much is taken and how difficult it is to have SSI reinstated. But I do know that, for the last two years, the blind has been able to make at least $24,000 without having to worry about everything being taken away. So apparently, they do give some small amount to keep your account open.
'If you don't like the work?'
Now ... that's a new one.
I understand if you can't, but 'don't like the work?' ... IMHO I don't think that's fair. One thing to have real limitations that prevent you from doing a job, but when I worked in the food program, I didn't either. I just needed work for awhile, and was trying to bloom where I was planted. Nothing unusual there, that's ... just nature.
'If you don't like the work' sounds, well, unnatural. Sure we all want to do what we like, but, safety nets are for people who can't. Can't because of disabilities, availability of work, economic circumstances and the like.
But frankly, 'if you don't like the work' sounds first ridiculous and second quite improbable for any sort of welfare to work program.
Boy, I'm gonna get it for that one I bet.
I'm sure you'd have to come up with an excuse for them. But really, if I absolutely hated a job, I wouldn't do it.
People do all the time in order to feed themselves and their families, and, apparently, to feed others who hated their job and went on benefit.
I'm no right-wing wacko, I think a safety net is good for society. But it's for people who can't work, or are out of work / looking, or are in a bad economic circumstance and there is no employment in their area.
But preference is a luxury of the rich: certainly not a luxury of mine or anyone I know in real life.
If I have to give up my benefits in order to work at a job that I can't even tolerate, one where I'm miserable and to which I hate going, it's not worth it, unless, perhaps, it pays alot. My mental and physical well-being is quite important to me. Now I'm not saying that I wouldn't take a medioker job, one that I could tolerate but that wasn't at the top of my list. That would be completely foolish. But there's a difference between a job that simply pays the bills from which you'd like to advance and one where you hate every working minute and from which you'd do anything to escape. So I am reasonable. I would, for example, take a phone position either with inbound calling or with appointment setting where you're basically calling to remind people of their appointments etc. But I would not take one with cold calling where you would have to repeat the same thing over and over again and call people who couldn't care less about what you're trying to offer, nor would I get involved in another mlm, where you have to try and recruit people. I also have very little patience for working with people who have mental disabilities, so I doubt that I would be good there.
Actually, there are three ways that I would take even the most dreaded positions. The first is if, by doing so, I could somehow help my country. The second is if, by some miracle, someone were willing to sponsor me to go there but they were offering a job that, under ordinary circumstances, I wouldn't consider. The third, and Gods forbid this ever happens, is if my boyfriend became ill and I could help him in some way by doing this.
Hmm glad you can choose, I guess?
Most of us can't. We're not in a utopia, and because of that, work is how we sustain ourselves. First and foremost. Sure, it's nice to be able to do something we like though many times that itself can come under fire.
I also don't have anyone to support other than myself and don't have any major investments i.e. house, school loans (I didn't take any) etc. So that probably makes a huge difference as well.
I spoke with my counselor and gave him the phone number for the staffing agency that I mentioned in an earlier post as well as two others, which I will include, along with my comments. He said that he would call them to get a general idea of what they offer and would then get back to me with the results. Of course, I could call myself but he has specific questions that he'd like to ask so I'm not complaining.
Active Staffin:
This is the one mentioned earlier. The number given here is for their NJ office, but they also work with New York and Florida and those numbers are on the site.
201-876-8888
http://www.activestaffing.com
INDUSTRIAL Staffing Services, Inc.
(732) 390-7100
http://www.industrial-staffing.com
This is a women-owned global company. They seem extremely serious about their equal opportunity status and wish to help everyone achieve employment. They specialise in industrial and technical fields.
Aerotek:
888-237-6835
http://www.aerotek.com/Default.aspx
This is a company with international locations that specialises in many fields and also works with minority suppliers and women-owned businesses.
Hopefully, things will work out and someone will find me a good place in which to work. At least no one can say that I'm not trying.
Um? Call me ignorant, ignoramus, or whatever, but ... what's an employer to think if a 'counsellor' - someone from the government - calls them on your behalf? I don't have any experience with that, to be honest, but ... you may be making it hard on yourself. It reminds me of an article targeted at us parents of teenagers:
There's a class of said parents (me definitely excluded from said class) called 'helicopter' parents, though that damn bird don't fly. Apparently these folks will try and intervene on their child's behalf with the boss, even show up at an interview. I'd be careful about letting the government man do that. I'm not anti-government - don't wear a white sheet and run around chanting wierd things in neighborhoods at 4 in the morning on Saturdays, but still ... someone correct me if I'm wrong, but an institution man calling on your behalf may well put them off. I'd try and talk him out of it were I you, and if there's something he wants to ask either ask in your initial call or he could later, though I'd personally opt for the former.
Remember he don't have to work there, *you* do.
If what I said just came out of left field, the idea of a government man doing this ... came out of left field to me.
I have no problems with it, since at least two of them specifically stated that they're eoe. It only makes sense that someone who is a professional at working with the blind asks whatever questions he wants. I was going to call them myself, but I guess he wants to see a few things. It's not like he's asking them to give me the job. He may not even say my name, just ask the kinds of services that they offer, how they could accomodate a totally blind person etc. And in any case, if it does work out, I'll be calling them myself, so they'll be able to tell that I'm intelligent and can handle my own affairs in general.
Everyone today who doesn't want to get sued registers themselves as 'equal opportunity employer' there's no official registration you just say that you are and there are templates of a EOE policy you can just form-fit.
And, having someone call for you isn't E.O.E. Ambition or lack thereof isn't a disability.
I suppose the exception would be someone who couldn't speak but even then I had a customer call me when I was still a support staff member and he had a woman tell me ahead of time, he was using a synthesized voice, don't remember thw word she used.
And he proceeded to discuss, at length, web / API stuff including using his device to dictate a trace to me. He had to type everything in line by line and hit send or whatever.
Anyway everyone who doesn't want to get sued is E.O.E. because it's not real, there's no standard of proof, it's just a fuzzy word for something.
Even if it were, having someone call for you isn't an E.O.E. like getting a blind person a reader, human or otherwie, or getting a wheelchair person a appropriately sized table.
Whatever it is or isn't, so long as I get the job, I honestly don't care. But I will say that the second place seems to go above and beyond the usual disclaimer statement and appears to be very interested in helping to even the playing field for everyone.
I am actually starting a Industries for the blind job here in fl. It is the first one they are opening in jan. I am soe xcited because I can keep my ssdi.
That's so cool! Does anyone know if that works for SSI as well? I doubt it but am still curious.
I forgot to ask. Do you know what kind of job you'll be doing or will they evaluate you first?
The other day, I found a teacher of the blind job and e-mailed my counselor and the job club coordinator about it. It turns out that it requires a teacher certification, but more importantly for this thread, my counselor was recently promoted and didn't even send me a generic e-mail to inform me of this! So here I was, waiting for him to let me know about these staffing agencies and he's no longer my counselor! He didn't even try answering my questions, just told me about the promotion and gave me the number to my new counselor. The job club coordinator, on the other hand, answered all of my questions and agreed to help me, and this is with laringitis no less!
So now it's back to square one. I've decided to contact these staffing agencies after the holidays and will probably give a call to the NIB and perhaps the Lions, though I don't think they have any work of this nature available. On the up side, I was given the e-mail address of a master broom maker by the head of the NFB Krafter's Korner, so will definitely write to him to ask a few questions. At least my crafts are coming along.
sorry for the delay. I know that with ssi they take off for each dollar you make so honestly do not know but I think no you lose the benefits. I will be sewing things for the military is all I know. When we start it is my thought that we will be in a month long training before going on the floor.
Not a problem. That was another concern of mine, working to make things for the American military when I'm a Greek patriot and don't particularly care for what America is doing abroad. Mind you, I have nothing against their troops as individuals and don't support harming innocent people, so am totally against things like terrorism. I don't mind working and giving back to the government, since they gave to me all these years, but I do feel a bit strange. It's because of America that Greece and the other NATO and UN countries are in Afghanistan and I sort of feel like I'd be helping them along by making their supplies and that brings guilt, which is a very foreign emotion to me. That's one of the other reasons why I was hoping to work with a mainstream company or that I'd get put on another assignment if I worked for NIB, but of course, I'd have no control of that and would do whatever they asked me. I guess I can bare it if I don't think about it too much, just do the clothing and go home...
Do you know if they also make stuff for firefighters, police etc? That would be cool! *smile*
Kay let me answer the NiB question too... yes, they make all types of stuff. If you want to know, are intrested in working for them here is there website to check it out. http://wwww.nib.org, have a look around.
I am a NIB call center agent, so I so do know about the NIB. Its my job to know about them, to answer any questions and to direct people to the proper channels.
I just wish that they were closer! There's one right in New York City that makes all sorts of great things but Access Link won't travel out of New Jersey. There are car services but I'm sure they'd be far too expensive to use daily. I do not feel comfortable traveling on buses and/or trains, because I haven't done it on my own before and I wouldn't know what to do if I had to switch from one to another or if they left me who knows where. I really do need to be dropped off at the location. But something has to give. I find jobs that look great and then they'll say things like "must be able to lift 50 lbs." It's not that I'm unwilling. I just don't know if I can do it. I weigh about 124 lbs. (perhaps less now) and don't exactly lift weights. lol There is a facility related to the NIB but not a part of them. In any case, they just do phone work. What I'd really like to know is how much they pay for various positions. They just say that it's competitive.
Manual labor is generally hard on the body, and often is for those who want to work rather than those who create an idea of something. Your size, or somebody's back trouble, may mean you or they can't do it, which would mean look for other options.
I'm sure that there is manual work that I could do that doesn't involve heavy lifting. I'm willing to compromise but it has to be reasonable and realistic.
You can get a mobility instructor in jersey I'd imagine. I had one when I worked in new york city and lived in Westchester county. I used the trains when I was in NJ for a month and they seemed safe and efficient. Depending on where you are in nj, you probably have an express train line near you that will take you right into the city. I did it with my seeing eye dog but trains are no big deal, even with a cane. I used them in England, in New York, and here in Boston and once you get used to it, it's really not a big deal. A mobility instructor would be a good start though. Your counselor at the Comission should be able to set you up with one quite easily.
If you have any questions about the NIB just ask me Tiff i work fore the NIB's help desk here in Raleigh NC.
To answer you military question as far as why Nato is involved in some military actions its not all US take a good look at libbia. If you want to know more about what we make go to these links http://www.abilityone.com http://wwwabilityone.org http://www.abilityone.gov
I wish I could find a place for me to workhere in san francisco or in the bay area. It seems they have the lighthouse but unless you have a case open with rehab already they won't help you find work with any employers and the lighthouse industries program is not hiring from what I understand. I also was trying to find a call center I could work in but either I don't have enough experience or the software doesn't work with my screen reader. All in all, even with the training I've gotten, I still haven't gotten much of any work in the last 4 years accept for like 7 months of work at the lighthouse for the blind in Austin.
To Heartbreaker, are you mainly interested in phone work? You may be dealing with an oversaturated market. Especially in the Bay Area. If you don't have a case open with Voc Rehab, would you consider opening one? Please PM me if you want to discuss the topic further. I have some work experience and would be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Oh I fore got a link fore the ability one or NIB program. http://www.abilityone.com