Jobless rate for people with a disability is more than twice the rate for those without a disability
ALEXANDRIA, Va., August 28, 2024—Brandye Lacy, marketing coordinator for Travis Association for the Blind, also known as the Austin Lighthouse, joined a large group of National Industries for the Blind Advocates for Leadership and Employment on Capitol Hill. They was there to ask Congress to adopt a 1% AbilityOne Program utilization goal for the Department of Defense to grow employment for people who are blind or have significant disabilities.
Lacy joined the NIB Advocates for Leadership and Employment program in 2016 to educate legislators about the needs of their constituents, including people who are blind, low vision, or visually impaired.
In 2022, the DOD voluntarily pledged to nearly double its utilization of the AbilityOne Program, increasing from 0.55% to 1% by 2027. By formalizing this goal, thousands more Americans who are blind or have significant disabilities could have the opportunity to build meaningful careers in both manufacturing and professional services that enhance their personal and economic independence.
“Together, our strong, collective voice calls on elected policymakers to open doors for people who are blind, low vision, or visually impaired and not currently employed. Our focus on the 1% DOD utilization goal for the AbilityOne Program can impact employment for people who are blind in the future,” said Soraya Correa, NIB president and CEO. “The DOD is one of the AbilityOne Program’s biggest customers. We are grateful they voluntarily committed to this goal, but we know that making the goal mandatory will help build momentum.”
The AbilityOne Program is among the nation’s largest providers of jobs for people who are blind or have significant disabilities. It uses the purchasing power of the federal government to buy products and services from participating, community-based nonprofit agencies nationwide, dedicated to providing employment opportunities to approximately 40,000 people who are blind, low vision, visually impaired, or have significant disabilities, including more than 2,500 veterans.
NIB is one of two designated central nonprofit agencies under the AbilityOne Program. It is also the nation’s largest employment resource for people who are blind and, through its network of associated nonprofit agencies, the largest employer of people who are blind in the country. In 2023, NIB and its agencies employed 5,237 people who are blind, created new job opportunities for people who are blind, and employed 476veterans, including those who are blind, low vision, or visually impaired.
In March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that unemployment rates for non-disabled are now 3.8%—the lowest they’ve been since 1969. Yet, people who are blind still have one of the highest unemployment rates—more than 10% of working age Americans who are blind are not employed. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the jobless rate for people with a disability is more than twice as high as the rate for people without a disability.
Lacy started losing her vision in middle school. Her parents took her to a number of specialists before discovering she has a rare form of retinitis pigmentosa. By high school, Lacy was legally blind.
While studying communications in college, Lacy took a course on public policy and social welfare that awakened her interest in advocacy. When she became an NIB Advocate for Leadership and Employment in 2016, she was thrilled.
“We are basically the voice for our agency. We go out there and talk about particular legislative issues and how they affect people who are blind and our jobs, and we share the stories of what these jobs mean to us,” Lacy said. “It’s so important to tell our own stories because we are the experts on our disabilities. It’s crucial that we get out there and let people know, ‘This is how this is going to affect me, and this is what you can do to help.’”
As an Advocate, Lacy meets with both national and state legislators, and she uses a particular concrete example to start the conversation.
“I always like to ask: ‘Hey, have you ever been out on the National Mall and used any of the sanitizer that’s in the restroom?’ Then you have used products that were made by people who are blind at the Austin Lighthouse. Yes, those are SKILCRAFT products! You are changing the lives of many just from that one squirt of hand sanitizer.”
After college, Lacy started out sewing chin straps and working in the soap department at the Austin Lighthouse before being promoted to her current role as marketing coordinator. Now, Lacy is also helping to lead the NIB community’s combined effort to gain Congressional support for the 1% AbilityOne Program utilization goal for the DOD.
“We’re asking for a 1% spend, mandated by Congress, saying that the Department of Defense needs to spend at least 1% of its total annual budget on AbilityOne Program products and services,” Lacy said. “We’re at 0.55% right now, so we want them to double their spending because it will make a world of difference for the people who work at NIB associated agencies and the other people that are part of the AbilityOne Program. When you expand that spending amount, you create more job opportunities for people who are blind.”
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About National Industries for the Blind
Incorporated in 1938, NIB is the nation’s largest employment resource for people who are blind, and through its network of associated nonprofit agencies, is the largest employer of people who are blind in the U.S. NIB creates opportunities for people who are blind to become wage earners and taxpayers, reducing their reliance on government support and increasing engagement in their communities. The organization offers career training and assists employers and employees in developing mutually beneficial workplaces. NIB’s vision is that blindness is not a barrier to employment. In 2021, NIB launched a national talent management enterprise known as NSITE. NSITE provides a continuum of employment services that connect employers with talented, dedicated people who are blind or visually impaired, including veterans. For more information, visit www.nib.org or www.nsite.org.