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March 3, 2022

Breaking Barriers: Nonprofit CareerAbility helps employers fill jobs, and people with disabilities find work

PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Michael Petruso works at the Jewish Community Center of Greater New Haven's fitness center.
By Jean Falbo-Sosnovich

At CareerAbility a person’s abilities are far greater than their disabilities.

Just ask the many men and women living with daily challenges — from autism to Asperger’s Syndrome — who are gainfully employed around the Greater New Haven area, thanks to the training they received from the New Haven-based nonprofit that provides employment services and opportunities for people with disabilities.

CareerAbility was founded in 2017 through a $5 million grant from the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation, and it is part of the Chapel Haven Schleifer Center, a nationally-accredited school and transition program serving adults with various abilities and needs.

Since 2017, CareerAbility has annually placed more than 100 adults into jobs, internships and volunteer programs, according to Executive Director Danielle Chiaraluce.

Graduates are working everywhere from Yale New Haven Hospital and Home Depot to Beardsley Zoo and Southern Connecticut State University.

And at a time when employers are experiencing unprecedented pandemic-related staffing shortages, CareerAbility is bucking national trends by helping adults find meaningful employment.

According to Chiaraluce, in 2020-2021, 88% of CareerAbility’s clients were placed in competitive employment, compared to the national average of 18%.

Over the past two years, all adults placed by CareerAbility have retained their jobs six months or more, compared with the national average of 62%. Since 2017, 94% of adults placed by CareerAbility still remain in their jobs, exceeding one-year retention rates.

New opportunities

Two of CareerAbility’s success stories, Michael Petruso and Brenna McWilliams, said the training they received through Chapel Haven’s Asperger Syndrome Adult Transition Program changed their lives for the better. Both live independently in their own apartments on Chapel Haven’s campus and pay their own rent, thanks to jobs tailor-made for them.

Petruso, 36, has been working at the Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Greater New Haven’s fitness center since 2019.

“It’s an awesome environment to be in; I wipe down the fitness equipment, I keep on top of the latest information about the center’s fitness programs and take head counts,” Petruso said. “I’ve always wanted to turn my love of physical fitness into a career.”

Since enrolling at Chapel Haven after moving from Las Vegas, Petruso earned his personal training certificate and lost 40 pounds. He wants to help others with challenges find success, too, he said.

“I want to help people on the spectrum because I understand what it’s like not having people guide you,” Petruso said. “Without CareerAbility and Chapel Haven, who knows what I’d be doing.”

JCC Executive Director Scott Cohen said Petruso has been with the fitness center for three years and knows a lot about fitness and exercise.

“He brings that knowledge to our members, along with a positive, upbeat attitude … and has had a really positive impact on our workforce,” Cohen said.

McWilliams moved from Maryland to attend Chapel Haven. She now works at Defibtech in Branford, assembling automated external defibrillators, which are portable medical devices designed to jump-start a person’s heart.

McWilliams said the work is meaningful to her and before the job training, she had no idea she was interested in manufacturing.

“I’m really glad I went to Chapel Haven because they gave me opportunities to explore career options until I found something I loved,” McWilliams said. “I really like getting paid, too.”

Defibtech’s Human Resources Director Chrissy Falcha said McWilliams has been a positive addition to the staff.

“Brenna is very engaged and focused, and it’s nice to have someone on our team who really looks forward to coming to work every day,” Falcha said.

Smart investment

Sarah Elsdon, CareerAbility’s career development manager, said people with disabilities continue to be “a highly underemployed and consistently marginalized population,” and that’s what her organization is striving to change.

Only 18% to 19% of working-age adults with developmental disabilities or autism are competitively employed, Chiaraluce said.

“Historically, traditional employment models for those with developmental disabilities did not focus on providing meaningful employment,” said Chiaraluce. “We take a person-centered, individualized approach to job procurement and career development. CareerAbility’s model is unusual in that it looks to fit the job to the individual and not the individual to the job.”

Hiring those with disabilities can be a smart investment, she said.

“Many of our employers find that hiring people with disabilities supports their profitability — with retention and employee loyalty — creates a diverse and inclusive work culture, and improves morale,” Chiaraluce said.

Secondary benefits to people with disabilities, she added, include an improved quality of life, social connections, income, self-confidence and a sense of community.

Adults with disabilities can be a good match for a specific business need, she added, and employers interested in seeking out such workers should start by creating more inclusive hiring practices and partnering with organizations like Chapel New Haven.

Employers can also use the internet and social media to help recruit individuals with disabilities and raise awareness of their company as an employer that’s committed to recruiting adults with diverse abilities.

“Some of our employer partners have developed an electronic mailing list of disability advocacy groups in their local geographic area to highlight some of their vacancies and relevant information,” Chiaraluce said. “Internally, they can review their hiring practices to assure that quality candidates are not being unnecessarily screened out.”

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