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TAYLORSVILLE — Utah has one of the lowest overall jobless rates in the nation at 3.4 percent, but for people with disabilities, that number is much higher — typically above 10 percent, according to the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation.
It's a fact that is all too real for West Valley resident Chris Hocker, 31, who was among the scores of Utahns attending the annual Work Ability Career Exploration and Job Fair for individuals with disabilities at the Sanderson Center on Tuesday.
Born with a condition that partially paralyzed him on his left side, Hocker said having a physical disability has been a lifelong challenge.
"If you take a disabled person's life and compare it to a regular person's life, it's completely different," he said. "Disabled people are looked down on, like they are not as complete as a normal person."
Hocker said that attitude can often be found in the workplace or during the job interview process, which may preclude someone with a disability from being fairly considered for a position. But he noted that Utah offers useful services that help connect employers and potential candidates at job events such as this.
Currently employed in baggage handling at Salt Lake City International Airport, Hocker said his goal is to find a position in customer service.
Meanwhile, Amanda Montoya, 36, of West Valley City, is in the early stages of her job search as she also learns to navigate the world with a cane. At 27, she was diagnosed with keratoconus, a rare degenerative eye disorder that can cause significant distortion of vision.
About a year after her diagnosis, she lost the ability to work at her position reading on the computer and entering data.
“It’s been a long journey for the last few years,” Montoya said.
She hopes to become a trainer to help others who may have sight-related disabilities. Additionally, she has learned to perform some of the same functions she did before her disability — using screen reader technology.
“I’m learning that everything I did before is possible, and I feel like I have more of a platform to stand on now,” Montoya said.
The Utah State Office of Rehabilitation and the Department of Workforce Services organized the one-day event. Participating employers included businesses from various industries such as transportation, higher education, government, hospitality, customer service, shipping and handling, communications, construction and banking.
“Job seekers can feel confident that our business partners have knowledge about disability issues and understand accommodations within the entire employment process,” said Leah Lobato, director of the Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities and Business Relations at the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation. “We aim to provide an environment for people with disabilities to easily share their employable strengths and abilities.”
For Deja Powell, 33, everyday life has been particularly demanding since birth. The Taylorsville native — who currently works as a cane travel instructor at the Utah Division of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired — was born with a rare eye condition that allows her to see the full spectrum of light, but through blurred lenses.
One of the major hurdles people with visual impairments face, she said, are the misperceptions that sighted people have about them.
“That we need a lot of extra assistance, that we can’t do things as fast or as productively as a sighted person,” Powell said. “There is a 70 percent unemployment rate among blind people. That is huge.”
She noted that events like the job fair are aimed at correcting some of those misnomers. And while she has been able to overcome her disability to a large degree, it wasn’t at all easy.
"I struggled through school. I struggled to find a job," Powell said. "I knew I had the potential, but I didn't have the skills. I knew I was smart, but I didn't have anybody to give me the tools to really be successful."
She said her parents were told that since she has some sight that she didn’t need services available for the disabled. At 23, Powell finally learned Braille despite having been legally blind for her entire life, she explained, and soon after she received cane training — which changed her life.
“Everything got better. I was more confident, more independent,” Powell said.
Since then, she has attained a master’s degree and is currently studying for a doctorate in education.
“I want to work with blind kids, starting them early learning the (reading and mobility) skills instead of waiting like I did,” she said.
With the proper resources, training and opportunities, people with disabilities can achieve great things, Powell said.
