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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us November 3, 2005 Employed, with a little help from friends By Robert Plain Ashland Daily Tidings Stephen Arthur washes windows at the Stratford Inn on Wednesday. Arthur is able to maintain a job despite a psychiatric disorder because of support from an employment program initiated by Options for Southern Oregon. Orville Hector | The Associated Press Stephen Arthur, age 45, is a janitor at the Stratford Inn. He washes windows, takes out the trash and ensures that the downtown hotel is well-kept for the visiting patrons. He also suffers from a psychiatric disorder. Processing numbers and dealing with money are tough tasks. But Arthur has few problems doing the daily tasks of his job. Since doing the latter often requires the skills of the former Arthur does need a little help. Thanks to supportive employment, a new philosophy in returning adults with disabilities to work, he and 65 other mentally challenged residents of Jackson County are able to get the help they need to be gainfully employed in spite of their handicap. Options for Southern Oregon, a Jackson and Josephine County nonprofit, spearheaded this program in Oregon in 2000. It is now not only seeding throughout the state, but also all over the country. “Supportive employment helped me fill out my application,” Arthur said, during a break from his duties at the Stratford Inn on Wednesday. “They helped me look for a job. They talk to my boss and make sure everything is going OK.” From Dartmouth to Ashland in search of good solutions David Lynde came all the way from New Hampshire to study how Jackson and Josephine counties are utilizing supportive employment. He is part of a team from Dartmouth College that is making a movie about evidence-based best practices in the field of mental health. “One of the problems in the mental health field is that we have done a poor job of setting up what is effective,’ he said. “We need to be investing in services that really work.” To that end, he was in Ashland on Wednesday filming scenes to show to other communities around the nation how they are doing it in Southern Oregon. “This is what people are doing in Ashland, Oregon,” he said. “This is what you could be doing, too.” Lynde said the movie will help other states and counties to adopt similar programs. He called supportive employment “a microscopic picture of where the nation is heading. It’s a new era in helping people get on with their lives.” — Robert Plain Options for Southern Oregon piloted the supportive employment program in Oregon. The group helps clients with everything from resume writing, interview training, reporting wages and communications strategies. “We’re sort of an agent or a coach,” said Leo Hoersting, Arthur’s employment coordinator. “We basically make sure Stephen has someone in his corner.” But they also aid the employer. Jeff Krolick, the clinical director for Options for Southern Oregon, said his agency acts as liaison between the employee and the employer. “We work for the employer and the employee,” he said. “A lot of times someone gets hired and just put in the fire, and if it doesn’t work out they leave. This way there is someone in between to make sure it goes smoothly. Josh Hannick, Arthur’s boss at the Stratford Inn, said the relationship is working wonderfully. “Stephen is doing great,” he said. “Even if you don’t have a special need, everyone could use an employment specialist.” Krolick said people with psychiatric disabilities are “extremely underemployed.” Nationwide, only about 15 percent of people with mental disabilities are gainfully employed. He said this does not have to be the case. “People’s need to get back to work is not being adequately addressed,” he said. “A lot of people would love to go to work, given the opportunity.” Arthur, for example, said Options for Southern Oregon has changed his life. “My life used to be pretty boring,” he said. “I worked a little bit for my family but I didn’t have much to do.” Staff writer Robert Plain can be reached at 482-3456 x 3040 or [email protected]. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams