For two and one-half days in July, more than 250 Latinos converged on the Windy City for the Third Annual Bridges to Employment Conference. There were 100 people with disabilities in attendance, a conference record. Rene Luna of Access Living believes this was the organizing committee's biggest achievement, since, he acknowledged "it's not an easy task to get that many people out in the Latino community."

Anel Gonzalez of the Great Lakes ADA and Accessible IT Center agreed that the strong consumer showing was a big achievement. He pointed out that the local organizing partner, the Committee on Integration of Latinos with Disabilities (CILD), had as its goal to bring in the people who could really benefit from the information, rather than just attracting service providers.

At the conference, people with disabilities networked with service providers, employers, and successful Latinos with disabilities like Zully Alvarado. Alvarado is a multi-degreed entrepreneur who has been successful in both the for-profit and not for profit arenas. She had polio as a young child, and came to the US from Ecuador to gain access to better healthcare and treatment as well as opportunity. About Alvarado's presentation on how to start a small business, one of the conference participants said, "Zully Alvarado was an inspirational speaker. Her success has made her an advocate for the disabled in a way that is subtle but encouraging. Her desire to get the word out in how to become a successful entrepreneur made a huge impact on the audience."

Luna credits the CILD's community collaboration efforts for the increase in conference attendance this year. "Since the closure of the National Center for Latinos with Disabilities (NCLD), different parties have united to fill the gap. The CILD, whose emphasis is educating the community on issues of concern to Latinos with disabilities, is hoping to conduct a presentation at next year's conference about how to bring various community organizations together and collaborate successfully to provide services to the Latino community, even in the absence of a strong direct service organization.

Gonzalez added that it was important that the CILD joined forces with Proyecto Visión, a well-recognized and respected national organization. This partnership gave them the opportunity to expose the work that is going on in the Midwest to a broad-based national audience. Luna agreed, adding that even though Chicago won't have the resources of Proyecto Visión to work with next year (the 2005 Proyecto Vision conference will be held elsewhere), CILD wants to build on their success and maintain their momentum. According to Gonzalez, the CILD is already in the early planning stages for an event for 2005, and they also are working on a video to talk about employment concerns of Latinos with disabilities.

While all the conference sessions were well received, with most receiving high evaluation marks, it came as no surprise that, as in past years, the 'Success Stories' workshop that featured successful Latinos with disabilities sharing their personal experiences was a highlight. One participant, echoing the sentiment of many who attended the session said, "After hearing from Taina Rodriguez, Joel Irizarry and Laura Rourke, I have hope to continue life with my disability." Panelist Rodriguez believes it is crucial for Latinos with disabilities to continue to share their stories with each other so that learning and growth can occur.

Access to benefits, and transitioning from benefits to work are important topics for Latinos with disabilities. The session entitled 'Transition from Benefits to Work,' according to one participant "made the conference for me." The session provided participants with vital information on understanding their benefits, how they would be impacted if they return to work, and how they could successfully return to work and keep their necessary health insurance and other benefits.

The importance of education and work was also stressed in the "What Can the Department of Rehabilitation Services Do for Me?" workshop. While the Director of the Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services recognizes that more needs to be done to serve Latinos in the State, there are many Latinos with disabilities who credit State vocational rehabilitation departments with their success. According to the mother of a disabled child who attended the conference, "Marta Sayeed and the Illinois Department got her daughter to the place where she can now seek a college education."

The Disability Employment Rights presentation was one of the most well-attended of the conference. Even 14 years after the ADA's enactment, people are still interested in learning about what their rights are and how to enforce those rights. Anel Gonzalez and Consuelo Puente, staff attorney for Equip for Equality, provided case studies in an interactive format to help the audience better understand the intricacies of the law. Says Gonzalez, "Using the cases studies was a way to break down the complexities of the law and make it easily understandable to the audience, who came from a variety of backgrounds." The 'You Be the Judge' format was successful, he said, because it allowed the presenters to gauge the understanding of the participants and adjust the level of the presentation accordingly so it was relevant and helpful.

Recognizing that relaxation complements a long day of work, participants were treated to a banquet dinner complete with a variety of cultural entertainment. Live music was provided by a local mariachi band, followed by Sun Sensation - a female impersonation duo that performed hits by Alejandra Guzman and Alicia Villareal. The final performance of the night was Baile Foclórico, a traditional Mexican dance ensemble. Participants, speakers and organizers alike had the chance to break bread, unwind and get to know each other in a relaxed setting, which committee member Antonia Tobias believes is really important. "We need to provide the opportunity to interact in a social environment, too, so that even more learning from each other can happen."

Participants came for a variety of reasons, but the one of the main reasons was to network with successful Latinos with disabilities and entrepreneurs. Other participants came to find out how to get and keep a job, and parents came to learn to become better advocates for their children. Learning about services for immigrants drew service providers to the conference as well.

In response to the needs of the Chicago community, CILD staff provided simultaneous translation of all workshops into Spanish. American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters and personal assistants also were provided.

In spite of the conference's success, Gonzalez and Luna acknowledge there is always room to improve. According to Gonzalez, "One struggle we had was getting the employers to the conference so that consumers could hear about how to get a job at their companies." For every company that is actively seeking out opportunities to employ Latinos with disabilities, there are as many that aren't aware or interested. So, pursuing those companies and creating opportunities for collaboration in the future will be a key focus for the Committee's future work.

printer friendly format