|
Kristen Petro ready to start her shift at Natural Essentials.
Kristen Petro, 22, of Twinsburg, recently started working as a Production Associate with Natural Essentials in Aurora, Ohio, making hand sanitizer. Natural Essentials is one of the employment opportunities identified on the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabiltities (OOD) Urgent Jobs List.
With support from Taniya George-Olds, OOD Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, and Marianne Senvisky, Chief Navigator/CEO of Pathfinder Career Consulting, Kristen, who is on the autism spectrum, was looking for a full-time position with benefits so that she could become more independent.
“Kristen and I practiced interview questions and role-played to prepare for her interview,” said Marianne, job developer and coach. The preparation paid off: Kristen landed two interviews, followed by two job offers, on the same day.
She chose to work at Natural Essentials, filling the high demand for hand sanitizer, and is enjoying her job and coworkers. “I like my job. It’s very busy,” said Kristen. “Today, I packed boxes of hand sanitizer and put caps on shea butter. Overtime is needed from everyone right now,” she added.
“Kristen is great. She is very attentive and stays on task,” said Benjamin Infante, Plant Operations Manager for Natural Essentials. “I wish I had a plant full of individuals with a work ethic like hers.”
“It has been wonderful to see how her self-esteem and self-worth have increased, being a part of the team at Natural Essentials,” said Nancy Petro, Kristen’s mom. “Kristen is excited to be contributing to something so important. The job is helping Kristen to be financially independent.”
Taniya said, “Kristen’s employment at Natural Essentials has been nothing but positive. I am so glad we were able to find a good fit for her.”
Chris Dille wearing a face covering.
“No one is an island, nobody can do it all alone, and that goes double for all of us who struggle with what society says are ‘basic’ activities.” That’s what Chris Dille, OOD Office Professional 2, says of the support he has received.
Diagnosed with Asperger syndrome at age 10, Chris explains that he has been fortunate to have support from his parents, especially when it comes to the basics. “Eye contact, body language, facial expressions, idioms, and sarcasm that my peers took for granted, were alien to me. Also, I had to learn to recognize when I was feeling upset or stressed, working on routines, and coping strategies when things did not go how I planned. My parents and I were set on my becoming an independent adult, but I had to start with these basics.”
An employee with OOD for four months, Chris said, “I have gotten better at making friends with coworkers over the years too. While I am new at OOD, I’ve yet to meet anyone who isn’t friendly!”
So how has the Stay at Home Order impacted Chris?
“Every routine is upended. Many regular job duties are changed or suspended. However, over the years, I’ve learned to identify when I am treading water and ask which direction I can swim. I keep an open line of communication with my supervisor and anyone with whom I am actively working. I was a little worried the crisis would leave me floundering, but I have found myself rising to the occasion and pushing myself to learn new skills.”
Read an article to learn more about Chris’ story.
OOD Director Kevin Miller and his son, Connor, encourage everyone to mark National Autism Awareness Month by wearing blue. This month holds a special place in the Miller family’s hearts; Connor was diagnosed with autism at age four. Watch a video to learn more.
The OOD Division of Information Technology (IT) has quickly pivoted the agency to a telework environment due to COVID-19 so we can continue to serve individuals with disabilities.
What helped?
- Deployment of Office 365 software package to all agency staff—Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, OneNote, PowerPoint, Word, Excel—with full functionality on laptops and mobile devices
- Prioritization of IT security policies and practices that protect client information
- Adoption of other Microsoft 365 applications and services within OOD IT that reduced the expense of overlapping functionality and better support or enable cloud computing
- Migration and redesign of OOD’s public-facing website to the InnovateOhio Platform solution with full accessibility for screen readers
- Migration and redesign of The Insider intranet site to SharePoint Online
Read an article to learn more.
For trusted information on coronavirus (COVID-19) in Ohio, visit www.coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634). Be sure to check frequently for new resources. Recent additions include checklists for Essential Workers Potentially Exposed To COVID-19 and Talking to Kids as well as a release about the Mental Health CareLine.
Guest Column
Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague, guest contributor.
We hope that you, your family, and loved ones are staying safe and healthy. As Ohio and the nation continue to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to make sure you have the information you need.
Many Ohioans will be receiving a stimulus payment through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in the coming weeks. For those individuals who also have STABLE accounts, we urge you to consider placing those funds into the account.
By placing the payment into your STABLE account, you can ensure the money will not affect needs-based federal programs such as Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). More details can be found online.
If you have any questions about the many benefits of a STABLE Account, our team remains available to assist you. You can reach us by calling 1-800-439-1653 or sending an email to team@stableaccount.com.
Braille graphic of the word audio.
Through sponsorships with OOD and other agencies, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) offers NFB-NEWSLINE, a free audio news service for anyone who is blind, low-vision, deafblind, or has a reading disability. The service provides access to more than 500 publications, the latest COVID-19 information, job listings, newspapers, magazines, and more. Users can also access Ohio-specific information, such as text-only transcripts of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s daily press conferences, via OOD’s channel. Learn more about NFB-NEWSLINE, or call the NFB at 866-504-7300 for more information.
The Coronavirus.Ohio.Gov website includes a dedicated webpage with a collection of the most recent news releases from Governor DeWine, the Ohio Department of Health, and slides used in COVID-19 Daily Briefings by Governor DeWine and Amy Acton, MD, MPH, Director of the Ohio Department of Health. Also included on this page are a selection of curated news stories about COVID-19.
|
