Kessler Foundation Awards $425,000 Grant to University of Hawaii Disability Employment Initiative

2012-01-22 14:19:16 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WEST ORANGE, N.J.—Kessler Foundation awarded a Signature Employment Grant in the amount of $425,000 to the Office of Research Services at the University of Hawaii, to advance employment opportunities for people with disabilities. This Signature Grant is part of more than $2.7 million in grants awarded by the Foundation in 2011 to benefit people with disabilities. This is the first year that the eligibility for Signature Grants was expanded from N.J. to organizations across the U.S.

The Signature Employment Grant supports the development of a virtual reality (VR) software application, EmployAble: A World Without Barriers, to help jobseekers with disabilities navigate the world of job hunting and adapt to the workplace. This Virtual Employment Orientation and Support Center, the first of its kind, will enable people with disabilities, including veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI), to learn job and interviewing skills, build their resumes, be mentored by peers in the workplace and be matched with potential employers.

EmployAble will be developed by a team of innovative researchers and developers, many of whom have disabilities. Collaborators include the University of Hawaii Center on Disability Studies, Virtual Ability, and Abilicorp.

“Kessler Foundation supports programs that help solve the high unemployment rate for people with disabilities,” said Rodger DeRose, president and chief executive officer of Kessler Foundation. “EmployAble is especially important because TBI is the signature wound of our military returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. We need to do everything we can to ensure their successful reintegration into society so they can enjoy life and support their families.”

EmployAble will draw on innovative components of commercial VR software programs including Multiple User Virtual Environments (MUVE), Second Life (SL) Virtual World Simulation (SIM).  Employable will simulate social interactions in the workplace and demonstrate  commonly  used assistive technology, e.g. screen readers, captioning video programs, accessible document creation, presentation programs utilizing accessible features (VoiceThread, Adobe Flash, etc.), and text-to-speech software. 

Participating employers will also learn about supports and accommodations that lead to productive, satisfied employees. According to the 2010 Kessler Foundation/NOD Survey of Employment of Americans with Disabilities, employees with disabilities readily adapt to the workplace, have greater dedication and fewer turnovers.

Awarded yearly, Kessler Foundation’s two-year Signature Employment Grants fund pilot initiatives, demonstration projects and social ventures that lead to the generation of new ideas to solve the high unemployment and underemployment of individuals with disabilities. 

About Kessler Foundation

Kessler Foundation is the largest public charity in the field of disability. Kessler Foundation Research Center advances care through rehabilitation research to improve quality of life for persons with spinal cord and brain injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and other neurological conditions. Kessler Foundation Program Center fosters new approaches to the persistently high rates of unemployment among people with disabilities across the nation. Since its inception in 2005, the Program Center has distributed more than $20 million in employment projects for individuals with disabilities. 

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Contact:

Carolann Murphy, 973.324.8382, [email protected]
Lauren Scrivo, 973.324.8384, 973.768.6583, [email protected]

For more information, contact:
Deb Hauss, [email protected]
Carolann Murphy, [email protected]

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