It’s one thing to be an immigrant in our nation, to come here with high hopes for a better tomorrow. No matter what background, it is a rough journey to assimilate to a new land – trying to fit in and learn the language and customs of a people while maintaining some connection to your homeland’s traditional ways. Finding consistent work is one of many major hurdles. Then there are concerns about food, housing, and health care. But what if an immigrant is also disabled? What if an immigrant is traumatized by what he/she saw as they left or fled their homeland? Some immigrants come to the U.S., get jobs and then become disabled while on the job. Of course, there are no protections or benefits. They have no support system or way to become whole again. The Arriba Center for Independent Living, better known simply as Arriba, is a nonprofit in the heart of DC that is committed to helping immigrants become whole again and find work. Their astounding success rate for employment is over 90 percent. Founded in 1999, Arriba’s official mission is to “serve a community of Hispanic individuals with severe and chronic disabilities in Washington, DC, age 14 and above. Arriba offers employability skills training to the large population of mentally and physically disabled Hispanics in DC.”

Problem

The mission of the ARRIBA Center is to help economically marginalized persons with physical or mental disabilities, and/or members of ethnic and cultural minorities to find employment and live independently. The Center prepares clients to master activities of daily living, fully integrate into the community, become job-ready, and find and maintain employment. The Center helps clients in the District of Columbia learn how to care for themselves, manage their abilities, secure employment, and improve their quality of life. ARRIBA primarily serves Hispanic persons, age 18 and above, many with severe and chronic disabilities. DC is home to a large number of dispossessed and socially unadjusted persons, many of whom are mentally and/or physically disabled Hispanic immigrants or American-born members of minority communities. They also face cultural and language barriers that keep them from living independently and integrating themselves into the workforce. Their inability to care for themselves and engage in gainful employment can isolate them from society and lead to terrible economic consequences. According to the 2010 US Census Bureau data, 54,749 (9.1%) of District residents self-identify as Hispanic or Latino. However, it is widely assumed that Latinos make up a much larger share of the District’s population because the group is chronically undercounted in the Census. The District’s Latino population grew 21.8% between 2000 and 2010, making them the fastest growing ethnic minority group. While firm data on disabilities among Latinos living in DC aren’t available, based on the Centers for Disease Control’s statistic that 22% of the overall US population live with a disability, there are likely over 12,000 disabled Latinos in DC. The unemployment rate among the multicultural disabled is as high as 80%. In 2012/13, ARRIBA will conduct screening, counseling, case management, job placement, and referrals for at least 360 individuals; and deliver employability skills training, job placement services, and follow-up to 90 of these people. Clients will demonstrate increased knowledge of community adjustment, disability management, daily living management, self-presentation, resume preparation and interview skills, job search skills, and home economics/financial management. ARRIBA expects to place at least 70% of its ACTDEAR graduates in employment by the end of the program year.

Solution

ARRIBA will accomplish the above by delivering employability skills training and providing job placement and case management services. ARRIBA’s workforce development program is called, “ARRIBA Center Training the Dispossessed for Employment, Adjustment, and Reintegration” (ACTDEAR). It is a 14-session program geared to develop, increase, and improve employability skills; and secure gainful employment for its graduates. It’s comprised of 11 training modules, offered six times yearly to groups of up to 18 individuals. The ACTDEAR curriculum focuses on job readiness, job search and placement, and job retention. ACTDEAR trains clients on resume preparation techniques, word processing and Internet navigation, non-Internet modes of job search (for example: newspapers, radio, job banks, etc.), personal presentation, interview skills, how to fill out employment applications, labor rights and entitlements, techniques of job retention, aspects of parental responsibility, financial management, and English as a Second Language. With each graduate, ARRIBA performs exhaustive case management, job matching, job placement, and follow-up.

Example

Mrs. L is a client who suffers from Major Depressive Disorder and anxiety along with other underlying conditions. She has lived in DC for over ten years with her children. Her former employer accused her of assaulting a coworker. However, all she did was through her broom on the floor and scream back at the assailant to stop it. She was defending herself from years of verbal harassment. She felt hopeless and very betrayed by her employer. She was terminated and her years of dedicated work were not recognized. She came to ARRIBA Center emotionally broken. ARRIBA began developing her case and re-constructed her torn soul. She complied with all the require documentation and always made herself available. An opportunity appeared at one of ARRIBA's partner companies. She went on the interview but could not pass the background check because she was still under investigation. She knew that her record had been clean until this work related incident happened. Mrs. L requested a hearing. She had been taken to court on an assault charge by her former employer. However, a thorough investigation did not produce a single piece of evidence of Mrs. L assaulting anybody. Therefore, her original story of a scream in self-defense exonerated her. Her record was clean thanks to ARRIBA's intervention. She thought, "Finally justice served." Mrs. L passed the interview for her new job and became fully employed at the end of February. Within three months she will receive full benefits as well. Mrs. L's life changed instantaneously. She no longer has to beg for food or charity of any kind, nor receive government assistance. She feels whole again. We wish her the best and long term job stability.

Marketplace

ARRIBA is the only community based organization in DC that serves the employability skills training and job placement needs of immigrant Hispanics and the disabled. Three organizations that do similar work are: (1) The Life Skills Center, a community based organization (CBO) helping clients with severe mental retardation and developmental disabilities. Due to the severity of their disabilities, the Center's clients are not competitive employment bound. Conversely, ARRIBA’s disabled clients have remaining abilities at a higher functioning level and are competitive employment bound. (2) Green Door, a large CBO operating with multi-million dollar contracts from DC. Although Green Door provides job placement for disabled, they don’t have a dedicated Hispanic immigrant program. ARRIBA takes Green Door referrals when they’re disabled, immigrant Hispanics. (3) The DC Rehabilitation Services Administration (DCRSA). DCRSA has not had a Hispanic only division for eight years. Counselors who may not speak Spanish or have cultural sensitivities serve their Hispanic clients. DCRSA has a backlog of more than 400 cases of disabled Hispanics. Many of these clients come to ARRIBA for services.