Task force helps disabled access jobs

A myriad of state agencies, business and nonprofit groups recently gave access to jobs for the disabled a boost with the introduction of a workshop called Public Transit 101 and a Southwestern Connecticut Accessible Transportation Guide.

The initiatives were announced at an event June 3 for

"Access to transportation can mean access to jobs and economic independence," said Tom White, transportation program manager, The Workplace Inc., southwestern Connecticut's Regional Workforce Investment Board. "This effort will provide anyone who secures employment for people with disabilities with a working knowledge of the transit system in southwest Connecticut so they can include transportation in their job placement activities."

Funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Connecticut Department of Social Services and Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT), the People to jobs Task Force is administered by The WorkPlace Inc. of Bridgeport.

"'The cooperative efforts of a wide range of organizations, agencies, business groups and government officials have resulted in a program that will extend the reach of southwestern Connecticut's transportation services to more people, opening new opportunities for economic independence through mobility," said Mary Beth Mello, deputy regional administrator at the FTA.

Great collaboration

The public transportation workshops, titled Public Transit 101, are conducted by The Kennedy Center of Bridgeport, nationally recognized for its successful Travel Training program.

"As providers of travel training services throughout Connecticut, we know the importance of public transportation for people with disabilities," said Marlene Lawler, manager of mobility services for The Kennedy Center. "Transportation is a lifeline for these individuals, and training them to use the existing transit network removes many limits on opportunities."

Highlighting the event were anecdotal accounts from individuals who have been travel trained and are now using Connecticut's public transit services to and from work.

Attendees also received a sample lesson in Public Transit 101, a travel training program for human service professionals in southwestern Connecticut that was developed for this initiative by The Kennedy Center. They previewed low-floor DOT buses equipped with wheelchair ramps and received copies of the Southwestern Connecticut Accessible Transportation Guide.

"The guide represents a great collaboration among ConnDOT, MetroPool and transit operators to develop a customized resource that provides people with everything they need to fit public transportation into their daily lives, whether for work, shopping, leisure or other trips," said John Lyons, president of MetroPool Inc, which produced the guide for the DOT.

He added that human service professionals who assist people with disabilities will also be well served by the manual.