pages: CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2017-04-12.pdf, 16
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CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities | 2017-04-12 | 16 | ITEM 2-B COMMISSION ON DISABILITY ISSUES MEETING MINUTES OF Wednesday, April 12, 2017 6:30 p.m. center and said, "Hey, I'm here to recruit people and preferably if they have a disability." They said, "Oh, if you want to hire someone with disability, you got to go to the disability student office." "Wait, you're the career center, why are you sending me over there?" We're trying to change that mentality. It's the wrong mentality. That's something we're working on, that's part of our advocacy efforts. If you have an idea for something you want us to do, I'm open to any event idea you have. Jenny Linton: Okay. Stuart James: Any of them. I mentioned answering Michaela's question about some of the programs that we do require referral. We are required by law to have anybody with any disability pretty much do anything, and that's a really big task. It's impossible, quite frankly. So a lot of people who have really specific needs, our idea of help is we got to refer them to somebody who knows more than we do. Right? One of the areas that is the most difficult and the most challenging is mental health because they require long term support. And we have, for years, not done a good job in that place. Stuart James: We had programs, we had a great program at Oakland to get people who were homeless and mental health issues off the street. We had a really high success rate, we were serving about 230 consumers a year, and paid for by the county of Alameda. The problem was, within three months almost all of them were back on the street again. So it was just a vicious cycle. We do do a program that is special for that group, also funded by the behavioral health services from Alameda County, and we help people with severe mental illness who are doing well and who have stabilized themselves and who are ready to try to go back to work. And we help them with their work incentive benefits so they understand the process of how to get off services and what they can and cannot do and the steps it takes. But that program is specific to that group, you have to be referred into us. But we only have three of those types of programs. Jenny Linton: I agree with you on the mental health services, that's very important. Stuart James: There is no idea you could come up with that I wouldn't be interested in. [laughter] Jenny Linton: Okay. I think I have an idea on getting access to the college of Alameda. So I'll give you a contact. Stuart James: Yes, we would love that. Jenny Linton: Okay. Stuart James: It's right kind of across the street from us so we'd really like to have a better relationship with them. But absolutely. I am a creative sort, so I think if it sounds cool let's do it. [laughter] Jenny Linton: Okay. 05/24/17 Page 16 of 29 | CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2017-04-12.pdf |