It's been a tough market for anyone looking for a job lately. But for unemployed people who are also disabled, it can be even harder.

Whitney Foster Johnson, 23, of Cutler Bay, has been looking for four years. A tracheotomy she has had since birth makes it difficult for her to speak, but she believes she has something to offer an employer.

``They are missing out on a hard worker, a good worker that's a nice person and keeps to themselves,'' said Johnson, who has cerebral palsy and hypoventilation syndrome.

Last week, she joined thousands of disabled people throughout the country to experience a typical day in the workplace through the Disability Mentoring Day Program.

The goal of the effort by the American Association of People with Disabilities is to encourage employers to hire the disabled after meeting and mentoring them.

``Most people focus on the disabilities of the potential employees and not their abilities to do the work,'' said Rudy Muniz Jr., a financial advisor who hosted Johnson at his office at Edward Jones Investments in Kendall.

``If every business owner could focus on people's abilities, they would find jobs for many more people,'' said Muniz, who spent 3 ½ hours showing Johnson the ropes of financial advising.

Johnson said she learned a lot about investments, but it was Muniz's motivational message that stayed with her.

``He told me to go in for what I really want,'' said Johnson, who is interested in computer technology.

Muniz told Johnson not to shy away from a position that others might deem unattainable for someone with a disability.

``In our paths, we face challenges, and mentoring can help people climb these walls. Disabilities are just another wall,'' Muniz said.

Muniz's and Johnson's experiences were duplicated throughout South Florida, where companies from art galleries to colleges, fast-food restaurants and Miami-Dade County's Parks and Recreation Department invited people to share part of their day.

The Agency for Persons with Disabilities, for example, placed about 30 of its disabled clients at 17 South Florida firms, said Michael Cardello, the agency's employment coordinator.

Larry Georgeson, director of workforce development for the Center for Independent Living, sent 116 people to 25 companies.

The need is great, he said, adding that one-fourth of Florida's population has a federally recognized disability. And of the 1,500 individuals with disabilities serviced by his center, half are seeking employment, he said.

When the agencies are not working on establishing mentoring for its clients, they sponsor many other employment training programs, including job-readiness skills such as interviewing and completing an application.

Muniz is spreading the word about mentoring, using his position as a board member of the Chamber South to raise awareness and encourage others to mentor the disabled.

``I believe that I have been empowered with the chance to make a lot of people aware of disability opportunities,'' he said. ``If we help them empower their minds, the disability kind of just fades away.''

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@