Integrating Supports Colorado

09/16/2022

We at Integrating Supports Colorado had a great time at the event last weekend with the All Abilities Carnival and Resource Fair in Colorado Springs! We met amazing people, and business's throughout Colorado and hope to continue to connect the people we serve to some of the resources we were able to learn about!

09/13/2022

Looking for employment and want to make a difference in the lives of others?
We at Integrating Supports Colorado are hiring for a full-time Supported Employment Specialist in the area of Denver. Whether this is your first career out of college or you are a seasoned Supported Employment Specialist, we encourage you to apply!

What does a Supported Employment Specialist do?

A Supported Employment Specialist provides employment support to those that have disabilities and want to work. The job entails helping the people we serve with their resumes, cover letter, and interview skills by doing mock interviews. We also, at times, do assessments on a job site, and the Supported Employment Specialist is to look at their skills in learning, professionalism, timeliness, and much more to be able to pair them to the right job afterward.
From there, we pair their skills and interests with companies that are hiring, and then we coach them on the job helping with the training process for a company, teaching professional skills, and finding the people in that company that can be the long-term supports for the individual we serve.

We offer many benefits from a 401K that we match a percentage, paid time off, paid holidays, and much more!

In addition, a few other position parts that are part of us connecting with those we serve and the companies throughout Colorado are managing the Facebook and Instagram page to help us gain awareness within the community.

Provides discovery, on-the-job training, job coaching, and long-term job supports to individuals with disabilities receiving services in community employment. Provides business development . Acts as a liaison between client, employer, and funding source.. 

08/29/2022

We at Integrating Supports Colorado want to share a helpful tip when working for a company and taking time off when an emergency arises. First, life has unexpected twists and turns, some of which are emergencies. When an emergency pops up, inform your manager about the emergency and ask for the time off rather than just not showing up to work or saying I need time off without an explanation. Not opening up to your manager about what is going on can lead to them thinking you need time off for no apparent reason, which can lead to conflict at work and sometimes even being let go.

If you are uncomfortable telling your manager for fear of your coworkers hearing what is going on, then a phone call will also work. The most important thing is that your manager knows it is an emergency, so they will be willing to work with you.

Last, make sure this does not become a habit. If this happens, it may be determined by your manager that right now, work is not a priority for you and may let you go as you need to focus on life during this season of your life.

08/26/2022

We at Integrating Supports Colorado are excited to celebrate National Dog Day with one of our own! Luna, in the photos, is a service animal that supports Shantelle, our Executive Director. Service animals, in short, are animals that do a service for the person they support. Luna supports Shantelle by picking up items if Shantelle drops them from her phone to keys and much more. In addition, Luna turns on and off
lights in rooms. Last, Luna pulls Shantelle out of places when she gets stuck, such as a grassy patch.

If you want to learn more about service animal requirements according to the ADA or the difference between an emotional support animal and a service animal, please check out the link below or ask questions in the comments below, and we will get back to you!

https://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm 🐶

08/24/2022

We at Integrating Supports Colorado believe in supporting individuals with disabilities to be as independent as possible in their personal lives and work. Today we want to share a helpful tip for individuals, their families, and job coaches using technology to help gain more independence for those with disabilities.

We have so much technology nowadays that can be used to help in many ways! The tip we want to share today is if someone needs reminders at work consistently in a position with many routine steps, it is possible to use a Google Home device or Amazon Echo device to set up reminders when working or doing everyday tasks at home.

08/22/2022

We at Integrating Supports Colorado believe preparing for an interview is helpful for anyone! The key to being prepared is practicing your answers to interview questions. Today we want to go over the STAR method for answering, "Tell me about a time you had a conflict at work." First and foremost, you do not want to talk too long, so make sure it is short and sweet with enough information to be clear. Then answer by describing the Situation (What the conflict was), Task (what you had to do or role), your Action (what you did), and lastly, the Result (how you solved the conflict).

If you want examples, check out the Muse article below that shares some great examples to answer this question.

https://www.themuse.com/advice/conflict-with-boss-interview-question-answer-examples

It’s not a trick question!

08/19/2022

Today we at Integrating Supports Colorado want to celebrate with Dylan as he starts his PWE at Big R next week! Dylan started with Integrating Supports Colorado only a few weeks ago and was ready to jump into an interview/tour of Big R the very first day! Way to be ready from the beginning of working with us, Dylan!

In addition, Big R has been mentioned several times in our organization’s posts because they have supported several people that we have worked with! The team is amazing, and even with management changes, they have continued to work with ISC. This is a testament to the organization's culture of wanting to help the community that we serve! Thank you, Big R!

08/17/2022

We at Integrating Supports Colorado want to inform everyone that earlier this year it was officially written that sheltered work facilities (places that employ many individuals with disabilities that are not community integration into the workplace) are set to be removed with a change to community integrated work settings. Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE) has a training on tools for companies needing to make the switch coming up on September 7th. If you know an organization that is needing to make the change or you are making the change, this is a great opportunity to learn how to take the leap into integrated work settings. If you have further questions, please reach out in the comments below, and we will answer any questions.

08/15/2022

We at Integrating Supports Colorado are excited to bring you some helpful skills each Monday, and for the next month, we are going to focus on interviewing skills to help you prepare to land the job you want! Today's question of focus is, "what is your biggest weakness?" The best way to answer this question is to name a weakness, what you have learned, and how you are overcoming the challenge of this weakness in your work. Why is it done this way? Well, if you state your weakness and how you are implementing strategies to move forward, it shows the interviewer that you are willing to grow and are independent in that growth through trying to do things differently rather than only stating the flaw. If you want to practice this question, please talk to your job coach, a friend, or a family member to help you practice. The more you rehearse, the more you will be ready for that question when it comes up!

08/12/2022

Today we want to give a shout-out to Bridget, who is working at the Arc Thrift Store! Bridget has done well with learning new skills and socializing with her coworkers and continues to grow into her position daily. Two of the most significant skills she has learned are being flexible by helping out other departments when they need the extra support and learning to speak up when she wants to finish something before switching tasks by saying, "I can help when I finish this task." In addition, the Arc Thrift Store has been a fantastic place with the team stepping up on many levels to support their ambassadors' independence in their jobs! The team is so supportive and helps people grow into their best selves in work and life as they do activity days for workers to help bring all the Ambassadors together throughout the area and the entirety of Colorado! Thank you, Bridget and Arc Thrift Store, for doing a great job!

08/10/2022

Today we want to share some good news from DVR. DVR has now signed a contract with AVAIL to help those with disabilities receive coaching virtually. It is a program where a job coach can record how to do a task and break it down step by step for someone to refer to later on their own! The increase in mastery of skills jumped to 76% when using the AVAIL program for many people who use it regularly. In addition, it reduced the number of hours of direct support to direct support only using 25% of the hours allotted. It also gives more independence to the person receiving support and can be used for work tasks and daily life tasks. Check out the video below to see what people using their program are saying!

Hear examples of how avail® is supporting individuals in employment, their employment agencies and extended network. availsupport.com

07/05/2022

Please know that you have rights when it comes to employment! There are circumstances where employers do discriminate and it is possible to hold them accountable as you can read in the release of one person taking action and speak out to a point that the company was held accountable (https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USEEOC/bulletins/31ead74).

If you are going through something like that currently reach out to us to learn next steps to resolve the issue. We are here to support you! This also goes for any other protected group (click this link to see if you fall into one of these categories https://www.indeed.com/hire/c/info/what-is-the-eeoc?hl=en&co=US)

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