Unless you have a child with special needs I’m betting you haven’t heard of the new campaign titled I’m In To Hire. 

You’ve heard of the Kennedy family – you know, ‘THE’ Kennedy Family – Whatever your political standings or religious and moral beliefs, leave that out of it, the Kennedy’s have done more for the special needs community than anyone I know.  Their various foundations have created and support Special Olympics, The R-Word/Spread the Word to End the Word,  Best Buddies and now, I’m In To Hire.  The I’m In To Hire campaign is a branch of Best Buddies International.  Which is a program I so badly wish we had in our area.  It’s a volunteer program that teams up people, typically other teens and college-age friends, with those with disabilities in one-on-one friendships and in workplaces.  It is such an awesome program.  When our special needs kids are young friendships aren’t that difficult to find.  It isn’t odd to have other mom’s involved all throughout elementary school, even in the middle school years.  But once high school hits, kids start gaining independence.  Even in church youth group no one wants the mom hanging around while the other boys open up about struggles they may be going through.  So forging friendships becomes really difficult for our special needs kids.  Besides mom hanging around, the intellectual differences have become really noticeable at this point.  So finding true friendships and job placement becomes really difficult.

So what are we doing you ask?  Well, some rely on local sheltered workshops.  They are great options for those that can make that setting work.  Our local workshop is not-for-profit and commensurate wage based.  Huh?  That basically means their pay is based on their output.  However many nuts/bolts they put together is what they get paid for.  My Evan HAAAAATES this kind of work.  Did I mention he hates this?  He will sit in a chair for hours

on end and put three of these things together, if forced, and come home with a paycheck for about $1.16 for four days.  Yep. How many people do you know that like to screw nuts & bolts together?  All day long.  Day after day.  In the same chair.  At the same table. In the same cold room.  In the same 100 year old barn, turned warehouse, turned sheltered workshop.  I think you get my point.  I know it’s a place filled with wonderful people, with their hearts in the right place, trying to do the right thing, with what resources they have been given.  But I just can’t make my son sit in a place he absolutely detests for the rest of his life.  The rest of the world has job options, choices.  What’s the saying, “Do what you love & you’ll love what you do.”?  So the opposite has got to be, “Do what you hate & you’ll hate what you do.”