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Numerous people contributed to the development of this DVD.
The DVD was produced by the New Hampshire-Dartmouth Psychiatric
Research Center under contract number 280-02-8070 with the
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National Implementing Evidence-based Practices Project
Supported Employment, Introductory Video
♪ Music ♪
MS: Work generally helps people.
Because they can get out of their apartment and do something with their time
and make a little money and feel like theyre contributing to something.
FS: This is my life now.
This is the best life I've ever had in history.
Im happier now than I ever was as a child or as a young adult.
MS: If you work, no matter what you're going to make more money.
FS: It keeps you busy.
MS: It helps with your illness to work.
FS: The fear I had before is not there.
I feel ... I feel free.
MS: I think partly because I work at a bookstore,
I think that has influenced me.
So that I want to write my own book.
FS: If it wasn't for this job, I never would have had this outlook on life.
FS: The way that I got my job was that my therapist introduced me
to an employment specialist.
And the program was called supported employment.
Supported employment required no tests or classes to get my job.
FS: I was working at Burger King.
I just wanted a change.
I'd been working there for a little over seven years.
I told my therapist that was in.
And I just wanted a change.
And she introduced me to Bill Naughton[?].
FS: He was very polite, nice.
I told him me about myself.
He helped me with my resumes.
He helped me with applications.
Then I went for the interview.
And they gave me the job.
I think it is easier with employment specialist.
FS: Supported employment is for anyone who wants to work.
FS: I never thought and it had never crossed my mind that I could work.
Before I used to feel like a little bird in a cage.
My therapist asked me what I was doing while I was here like a little princess
watching TV because I don't have anything to do.
She asked me do you want to work?
I don't know how to explain it to you.
Because it was a very shocking question for me.
Because I'd never worked outside of my home.
So then she asked me if I knew Maria.
And a little after that, they gave me the job.
FS: They kept telling me that I was capable of more,
that I wasn't like cleaning, maintenance.
That I started to care more about my appearance.
And I felt that I could move on with their support and I did.
And because of my job coach and people who helped get me started,
I started (inaudible).
FS: When I was hired, I was actually hired to do baby registry,
pick out for baby showers.
But when I started working at Babies Are Us,
they noticed I actually got the most number correct questions out of anyone
training in the store.
And they decided to put me in what they call HBA which means infant care.
FS: Your employment specialist will work with you and your treatment team.
MS: It was exactly four years ago in November when I tried to take my life.
The center takes charge of my medication.
Maria of Capital Region got me this job.
And I think that it's very good for me.
because for four years, I've been fine.
My mind can think.
I'm more positive.
And I believe that I stay out of trouble by being out of the house
for three or four hours until my wife comes home from work.
MS: I definitely have a positive outlook on whether or not I can find a job.
I've been working on computers since I was knee high and people expect me to do just
as well as any other person could.
And for the most part I can.
But there are some places where I need support and things I need to work on.
I go to Bill and I go to Larry and I say this is what I need.
MS: I'll send a resume and a cover letter.
FS: Would an internship fulfill your need to work right now?
MS: Yes, it would.
It would give me a college credit.
Which would probably reduce the amount of courses
I would have to take next semester.
I feel like I have a lot of support behind me.
MS: Tell me if any of those interest you.
And if so, we can make a phone call.
MS: There's this one in Weathersfield, computer skills.
Outgoing personality.
I don't know about that.
FS: Oh, come on Bob.
FS: Supportive Employment is about finding full time or part-time work,
depending on what you want.
MS: I didn't want just a job to just fill my time or anything.
I wanted something that could lead to something
that would look good on a resume.
FS: How would you feel working in that type of environment?
MS: Okay.
FS: You'd be comfortable?
MS: Yeah.
FS: Being around a lot of people.
MS: Yeah.
FS: So how many hours would that be?
MS: Twenty.
FS: Twenty hours.
Would that interfere with his entitlements?
MS: It depends how much money.
MS: It depends on how much money, but I doubt it.
MS: I've still got that paper you gave me that tells how much I can earn
at each level.
Have you seen that?
MS: I can work twenty-three hours a week at $8 an hour
and still keep my Social Security.
If I work more than that, then I would lose my Social Security check.
I wouldn't be able to support myself.
FS: I used to work part-time and get Social Security.
And now I've been working full-time for like three weeks.
I made that decision because you get more money.
You pay for your bills, clothes, even a little bit more there where I used to get
some Social Security.
I work at Wild Bill's Market in Bishop Corner,
food products, helping customers.
And I like the job.
The customers are polite, most of them.
And I like to do ...
I like doing what I'm doing.
FS: Supportive employment helps you find jobs that interest you.
MS: I think part of it is you have to know what your interests are.
For me, it's books.
So that is a good connection I think.
MS: This scans to see what you have.
I don't know if you can see.
But I had a roommate and he was Bill's the client.
Bill's been with me ever since.
And that was about two months before I got the job at Barnes & Noble.
It's cool.
It's like I've, you know, finally done something with my life.
This job is really excellent.
MS: I used to work in restaurants.
And after two or three jobs in a restaurant,
I realized that it wasn't for me.
Because I wasn't fast enough.
And, you know, there were people in the restaurant who would sort of give hints
and say, you know, I really don't think you're cut out for this.
And I was a little hurt at first.
But then I realized that they were just trying to tell me that this wasn't what I
was supposed to be doing.
MS: Come in.
FS: Hi.
MS: Hi, I'm here to do some photocopying.
FS: Now that I work in an office, accuracy is more important than speed.
MS: So you're going to make copies of this file and this file.
If you could just do ten of each.
MS: Okay.
MS: Thanks.
MS: Sure.
MS: When you work in a restaurant like lunchtime,
you've got to be really fast.
FS: I wish I had twenty Williams.
That's the easiest way to put it.
I wish I had twenty of him.
Because he's just ...
he's a remarkable young man.
MS: This was my first boss, Bob and Laura McKay.
I worked with them from '98 to 2000.
And then Bob sold the restaurant to Lindsay and JJ.
FS: We bought this place in January.
And through this transition,
I really didn't know what I was going to have Ruben do.
Because Ruben was a dishwasher for Bob.
Well, Ruben took it upon himself to look at things.
Lindsay, maybe we should sand the floors.
Maybe we should paint them black.
Maybe we should do this.
MS: Lindsay, those two are going back. (Yes.)
You've got to get (inaudible) they're three different parts.
FS: Okay.
FS: I wasn't aware of the ideas or the incentive that he would have or anything,
how much he had to offer.
MS: Basically, I do the dishes.
And when it gets busy, I help Chrissie do the tables.
Because she's a waitress now.
And when it gets busy, I help her.
I like working around people.
And if I can help somebody, I'll help them.
MS: Here you go, Joe.
MS: I'm Alex Rodriguez.
And I own Manhattan Bagel.
I was introduced to Victor by Maria employment specialist.
And it's difficult to find employees and a lot of turnover.
And I think it went really well with Victor.
Because he's been there for a long time.
And I don't get the turnover like I do with other employees.
FS: How long have you been working here, Victor?
MS: Oh, about a year, a year and a half maybe.
MS: I found that Victor is quiet, just does his job.
Victor comes in, works six days a week, four hours a day,
five hours a day.
Never asks to leave early.
Never shows up late.
So he just comes in.
He does his job.
And anything new, as long as I show him how to do it once,
he's capable of doing it.
FS: Supported employment offers support that is unique to you.
FS: What is it that you like about your work?
MS: It's work.
I like that it's work.
FS: I was fearful of sending my son to the program.
But then I realized it was a healthy thing,
a good therapy.
That they can entertain themselves and talk with other friends.
And they have a way to get out.
And they feel important.
Because it's important for kids to get out,
to have fun and to feel useful.
That's life isn't it?
FS: I've becoming with your family because our culture is like that.
And because I know your family and that they're involved.
I know you can become a successful individual in the future and everybody
will be looking after your well-being.
FS: I know that your mom, dad and brother want you to be a person
who will, as time goes on, become more independent.
FS: And when he got his check, he felt so useful.
He went out with his brother and blew it all on clothes.
FS: Supported employment adapts to your changing needs.
FS: I didn't know when I came to work in the store that our stock was going to be
like 20, 25 feet high above.
And we have to climb up and down ladders with boxes.
It's not that I don't want to do it.
But when I get up there, I get so nervous and so shaky,
I almost fall off the ladder every time.
It's like anxiety attack.
I've got height attack or something.
So I was too afraid at the time to speak up.
So I had my job coach come down and talk with my assistant manager at the time.
And he said no problem.
And they made this annotation that I don't have to go up ladders.
If I don't feel comfortable, I can get one of the people from receiving
to come get boxes down.
MS: Techniques to learn to deal with stress are some of the things that I hope
to learn from working with Bill, Larry and Bruce.
That's probably most important.
Considering that the field I'm going into is very high stress.
FS: The kind of support we can offer you, situational assessment,
job coaching, job shadowing.
Almost anything you would need for support on a job.
What do you feel you need to be employed?
MS: For support on the job, I need coaching to help me deal with certain
situations that I may find challenging, coaching with ...
being able to cope with difficult and stressful situations,
those sorts of things.
MS: Stress?
Yeah, I definitely get it.
There have been a few times when I've wanted to quit just because I wanted to
get everything cleaned out.
But my coworkers are always there for me, you know.
Especially the bosses.
The bosses are all cool.
And I've been doing fine on my own for awhile.
And Bill doesn't come in as much as he first did.
But he checks up on me.
And he gives me a little advice here and there.
And come to find out, if I didn't have Bill,
things would be a tad bit more stressful.
But I would ask for a time out.
Or I would think of my dog and that definitely helps,
you know.
He's pretty much like my best friend.
MS: Bill Naughton and I go out looking for work.
If we talk to someone in the personnel department,
we are straightforward and truthful about it and say Don has a mental illness.
Or he has an illness.
But it would not affect his work.
MS: I did not disclose to the office where I worked.
Because I just didn't want to get any strange looks from people.
And I didn't get any ...
any bad feelings from people, you know?
FS: Well, actually I didn't at first for awhile.
And then I changed my mind.
MS: It's a very private issue.
So it's completely up to the individual whether they want to disclose or not.
MS: I just think working just leads to a whole other set of positive aspects
in your life.
It will get you every morning to brush your teeth, to use ...
gargle with mouthwash, to shower.
FS: I found I cared more about myself.
And the more I cared about myself, the more I cared about my job.
FS: Sometimes I look at myself and I can't believe it.
What I used to be, what I am now.
I can't even believe it myself.
MS: I would tell anybody that is trying to recover from mental illness that getting a
job is one step in the right direction because it gets you out of the house.
It gets you thinking positively.
FS: And if I was able to do it, someone like me who was trapped inside of myself,
you can do it too.
FS: Mostly I drive to work and stuff, grocery store, doctor appointments.
It's good for going on drives.
I got my license last year.
So this is my first year with a license.
I passed on my third try.
In the beginning, I was kind of shy to go places.
And then I just started getting ...
what's that word?
Confidence. 324 00:16:52,100 --> 00:00:00,000 ♪ Music ♪