Challenge:
Employers often have prejudices about the work skills of people with disabilities or believe that hiring people with disabilities will increase costs to the employer. Work Ability was a two year initiative with the goal of helping employers to better understand the law regarding workers with disabilities, some of the advantages to employers currently contained in the law, and how to recruit and hire people with disabilities. Work Ability grew out of the earlier Vanguard Media Group project Think Ability which addressed changing attitudes toward people with disabilities.

Solution:
We renamed the project Work Ability because of its focus on the employer and helping them see the value of employing people with disabilities. We created a CD, “Opening Doors to Work,” which contained all the information employers needed to know to help them make a decision to hire a person with a disability. CDs were mailed free of charge to the 500 largest employers in the state. Radio spots encouraged employers and people with disabilities to call for a free CD. Collateral posters, mailers and table top displays also helped support the campaign, which ultimately helped people with disabilities obtain jobs and the skills needed for employment.