Homme/Hammerstrom: Bender Consulting & Bender Leadership Academy

Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guest, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

Hi everyone, welcome to the show. I hope all of you are having a great day. Everywhere, including around the world with Korea, South Korea, been in Canada, Singapore, Morocco, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Egypt, Russia, Brazil, Hong Kong. How about that? We have listeners around the world. And of course, all of you right here in the Americas. I am so thankful to all of you loyal listeners. You know, I'll meet someone and they'll say, "Oh yeah, I knew that. I heard your radio show." You don't know, I'm so thrilled when they tell me that. I am so thrilled. So first to all of you around the world, Richard Roberts in Brazil and Carla. Richard, you are awesome. And by the way, Richard is with the State Department and Gang Yeon Cho in, South Korea is with the State Department, and I work with Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Panama. I've been to all these countries as an expert on the employment of people with disabilities, but I would not have been there had it not been for the U.S. State Department. So my hat's off to you, uh, for all the great work you're doing. Uh, also I have to have a special shout out to Yoshiko Dart. Hey, Yoshiko, guess who's on my show today? Gerald. Gerald, you want to say hi to Yoshiko?

I'd love to. Hi, Yoshiko. Yoshiko power!

That's right, Yoshiko power. And I know you're smiling right now, Yoshiko. You all know what I'm talking about. Yoshiko Dart, who is the widow of the great late Justin Dart, who was the general of the ADA. As a matter of fact, Yoshiko, I wish you were here. I put my disability pride tree up 2 months early, and I ordered a replica of Justin's hat, and that's my treetop. I'll take a photo and send it to you. But why I do this— first, I love Yoshiko, but the second reason is I want you to remember that we have a history. Disability rights, we have a history. I want you to remember that. And also my great sponsor, Highmark, who has been the lead sponsor for years. And Highmark I just think it's such a great company. I want to mention, by the way, this is my 21st year. 21st. And next year is the 30th anniversary of Bender Consulting Services. But get ready, we have a surprise coming. Hold on, get ready. But today I have great guests. First, I have Gerald Helmy. Joyce Bender, who just gave that shout out to Yoshiko, who is the manager of talent acquisition and technology at Bender Consulting Services. Remember, Bender Consulting Services is a for-profit company. It's not a not-for— it's not a charity. For-profit. You know what that means? That means we provide good benefits. Compensation, and it also means people with disabilities need paychecks, not pity. So with that, Gerald, it's back— nice to have you on again. I love when you're on the show, and I'm always happy to have you with me. Uh, we are all about competitive employment. Before, um, I asked you to talk about this a little bit more because, as you know, 70% of people with disabilities are not even counted in the workforce. I just realized some of those people around the world may not know you. So, Gerald, how about if you introduce yourself to all of our listeners?

Sure.

And first of all, thank you, Joyce Bender. It's an honor and a privilege to be on this show with you today. And to serve in this role on this team with you supporting the competitive employment of people with disabilities. I go way back with Joyce because my father is blind and was the very first person with a disability that Joyce ever found employment for. Back in the '80s, she placed him into an IT role where he became the first blind certified Lotus Notes developer on the planet. So I grew up with my father being the primary bread earner for my family working in IT when that was so incredibly rare of a possibility for someone who is blind working full-time in technology in corporate America. And that was my everyday. This— my dad taking the bus into town, working like everyone else at Highmark, just doing his job. And that made a big difference for me and my outlook when I gained my own disability diagnosis in the 4th grade and my future, what that meant for me and how I viewed myself. I knew it was normal and just that my disability would not stop me. And I got the chance in high school to internship here, start out filing folders, cleaning up the kitchen, stuffing envelopes a couple days a week after school. Now 17 years ago. And I have disabilities myself, dyslexia, dysgraphia, PTSD, anxiety disorder, and migraine disorder. And I get to now lead the amazing team we have here at Bender. Shout out to Jill Zomp, our amazing talent acquisition coordinator supporting a lot of the work we do in recruitment every day. Helping place people with disabilities in competitive jobs and helping companies see the great talent that's out there in the disability community for jobs all across corporate America, the federal government, and amazing roles. So, and a team of 90% people with disabilities fighting that fight and fighting alongside Joyce on her crusade. For competitive employment for all of us. So it's very honored to be here alongside you, Joyce Bender.

Thank you. And one thing I want to say about that is, you know, I know, you know, you're a person with a disability listening to the show or a business person listening to the show. We are the best when it comes to the employment of people with disabilities, because you know what we have that no one else has? We have skilled people with disabilities in human resources and IT and finance, you know, across the board. We have people with disabilities, as I have epilepsy. And so when you talk to someone from this company, we get it. And we get who you— why you haven't been given the opportunities you deserve. Or if you're a company, we get it. We know how to find the right person for your company and handle all the accommodations. So I just wanted to point that out. And Gerald, you know very well that there are many people with mental health disabilities that do not disclose. Why do you think that is?

You're absolutely right, Joyce Bender. That's because people with mental health disabilities are worried the way they're going to be treated when they disclose. They say, "Hey, I have anxiety," or, "I have depression," and then they see the look on someone's face when you say that of pity, of, "I'm so sorry for you," or just different treatment or not believing them or all the other things that we face of discrimination and stigma for our mental health disabilities that, you know what, we'd rather just keep it to ourselves instead. And we get so many candidates today coming to Bender that have been in companies and have great skills and great careers that have disabilities, have mental health disabilities and other hidden disabilities that want to find a company where they can be out and proud as a person with a disability in an environment where they can feel it's safe to do that and not face that judgment. And they come to us trusting us to help them find those homes. And it's a privilege to be able to help them. Take that journey.

Yes, it is. Now remember, I live with a disability, you live with a disability, but we are not ashamed. And look out when you hire us, we're going to be going after your job. So don't be pitying us, that's for sure. Uh, so Gerald, I'm going to talk about the good stuff first. Although we talked about this workforce participation,, being low. The ship is moving, but it's moving very slow. However, we have a lot of great things going on. So, uh, first, what are the ranges like? Are they just entry level, just intermediate? What are the ranges and what are the types of skills we're seeking?

Oh, we could really get jobs at all levels, everything from entry level roles for people right out of school to executive-level positions. You'll see posted on our website through our executive search that we do with teaming up with Chris Griffin. But you'll see a lot of roles in the intermediate and associate-level roles to junior-level roles on our website right now in a lot of exciting fields. We've got project managers, we've got Scrum Masters, and cybersecurity engineers and people working with the Epic systems in hospitals and the technology that makes those systems run, software developers, telehealth nurses, loan representatives, financial service providers, customer service agents, underwriters, We really get a variety of roles and across different disciplines. IT's always been the biggest thing we get, but, you know, it's not just technology that we get. And I think we're going to see even more variety of roles coming across our website in the near future. So if you're going on that website now, you don't see the exact role you want today, still send your resume because One of the things that make us unique is we do a lot of old-school, word-of-mouth recruiting where Joyce has this incredible network of business leaders that want to include people with disabilities for the right reason. And oftentimes, if we have a great candidate with a great background, she knows the right people to promote those individuals to that need those skills that could be interested in bringing them on board.

Yes, that is so true. You know, and remember, all levels mean all levels through the executive level. And with that, we're going to go to break. If you just joined us, we are talking right now to Gerald Homi, the manager of talent acquisition and technology Joyce Bender Consulting Services. It's all about competitive employment. Don't go away. We'll be right back with Gerald.

Streaming live, the leader in internet talk radio, voiceamerica.com. Everyone has unique abilities, and with ABLE Now, individuals with disabilities are able to save money while maintaining certain benefits such as Medicaid. ABLE NOW is a tax-advantaged savings program specifically designed for people with disabilities. Open an account online today and start saving for the things that are important to you. To learn if you or someone you know is eligible, visit ablenow.com. ABLE NOW is administered by Virginia529. Since 1985, Bender Consulting Services has served as a national leader in advancing employment of people with disabilities, including veterans with disabilities, with private sector companies and federal government agencies. Bender assists customers with achieving their diversity and workforce inclusion initiatives by tapping into a talent pool of individuals seeking professional positions, including those in the STEM fields. In addition, Bender services include disability employment consulting, training in technology accessibility through their HighTest line of service, For more information, please visit www.benderconsult.com. Are you currently receiving SSDI or SSI and wanting to work? Did you know there is a free Social Security program called Ticket to Work to help you try work without risking your benefits? My Employment Options is an authorized SSA Employment Network specializing in work-at-home and local job placement in 47 states. Our clients receive a personal counselor to help find the best job fit and a staff-certified benefits counselor for help with Ticket to Work protections. Ready to try working? Apply for free job placement help at myemploymentoptions.com. At HyMark, we believe what makes us different makes us better. Our differences broaden our perspectives and foster diverse skills which complement each other, creating a stronger and more vibrant workforce. It's this belief that earned us recognition by the USBLN and the American Association of People with Disabilities as a 2014 Disability Equality Index Best Place to Work. So we'll continue to celebrate diverse individuals because inclusion benefits us all. To find out more, visit highmark.com. Follow Voice America at facebook.com/voiceamerica for juicy updates from your favorite radio shows and podcasts.

You're listening to Disability Matters. If you have a question or comment, call in toll-free at 1-866-472-5788. That's 1-866-472-5788. Now please welcome back the host of Disability Matters. Here's Joyce Bender.

Hi, everyone. If you just tuned in, we're talking to Gerald Joyce Bender, tell me, the manager of talent acquisition and technology at Bender Consulting Services. Employment, competitive employment for people with disabilities. Talent should be the only discriminator. Gerald, here's a question that I'm ask. You know, sometimes people do not understand that, and this is disabled and able-bodied do not understand the difference between employment agency and search firm. You know, I was in search and recruitment early on in my career before Bender Consulting, but could you explain what's the difference with a company coming to us or people just sending in their resume?

Yeah, you know, when you've applied to Bender, you're applying first of all for a competitive process. So, you know, you have to interview for the job and go through our process to be considered. So you want to treat Bender like a potential employer. You know, our job is to fill a role given to us by a company with the best candidates. We just only send candidates with disabilities as we do that work to make sure individuals with disabilities are going to get a great chance at those opportunities. And that's what we're all about. And how we're different than, you know, a typical employment agency is, you know, as we're working with these companies, we really are a true partner with them. We aren't just sending candidates, again, to open requisitions, but building those relationships with the hiring managers and the executives in the company to help with their intention to bring our candidates in for their jobs and make them successful in those roles. We have our workplace mentoring service where we keep in touch with you after you've been placed in that opportunity to make sure accommodations are successfully implemented for those that utilize them, that we just give advice for those new to the corporate world, or just a soundboard for situations you want to talk through. Help you almost like an executive coach to be successful in that world of a new opportunity to help have that high retention rate that we have and help the employers make sure they're doing all the right things in those opportunities. So we really work hand in hand with the company as that true partner and with the candidate and employee to make sure there's that big success. So it's really a lot more personal touch. It's a, it's a lot more marketing and relationship building and working through that than just open requisitions and sending resumes in large bulk. It's finding the right and best match and the best path for both the candidate and the company.

Yes, and why I had wanted Gerald to bring that up Even as I said, my years in search, someone would send their resume, uh, and then they would call and say, why didn't you find anyone? I went to Bender and Associates, that was my search firm, and they didn't find me anything. Why didn't they find me anything? But we are not an employment agency. As a matter of fact, I can't believe that some of these agencies still charge a fee. But no, there is no fee with us. To the person we place. But how it works, the company comes to us and says, "I am specifically looking for this skill." Now, although you may not be applicable for the current openings, we still want to keep you and keep in touch with you because the very next week something could turn up. That's why I would always tell people, including people through the 100,000+ level, I would say, We may find something in a week, but we may not find something for 6 months. But I just want you to understand, it isn't that we just take resumes of people with disabilities and just send them out everywhere. We're a search firm. So employers come to us with specific needs, and believe me, I only work on positions that are competitive, that pay you what you're supposed to be paid, because sadly, Many people with disabilities are underpaid, and I would never tolerate that. So, um, I just wanted to mention that. And also, Gerald, let's just say— what, let's stop right here. Why don't you give everyone the contact information to send us if they're interested?

Yeah, if you want to apply online, all you need to do is go to Bender Consult benderconsult.com/jobs and apply or upload your resume. That's it. Go to benderconsult.com/jobs. You can see our open roles or just send your resume in and get in contact with our team. Talk to us about what you're looking for. Once again, benderconsult.com/jobs.

And remember, there's still a contact there if you want to hire someone. You know, I am so honored that I have received the Woman of Influence Award here in Pittsburgh, and there's an event tomorrow night. But do you know what I always tell people? Don't tell me how wonderful I am. Hire someone. Hire someone. It's so easy to come up to me, oh Joyce, it's so great what you're doing. It is, and thank you, but why don't you hire someone? That is where the rubber meets the road. Uh, Gerald, you've seen people we place, some very successful, some not as successful. I mean, all with good jobs, but Some people move up, others don't. What, what would you say are some of the key things you see in people that become successful?

Joyce Bender, you got to be every day, every day early with a smile on your face.

Now, you may— you're hearing that, you may think, what, what's it? Oh no. The person that's there every day, dependable. Early, dependable, smile on your face, dependable. What do I mean by that? I mean, first of all, if you're there every day, you impress all the, all the managers. But who do you think is there first every day? Who do you think? The manager. So, you know, you can get to know the manager. And boy, when you stay at work and you have incredible longevity, you're the person that's going to get the, the next good assignment. And remember, be friendly. No one wants to be around people that are not friendly.

You're right, Joyce. You've got it. That's so important because if you're not likable, no one's going to want to have you on their assignments or have you move up with them. And Another key skill is active listening. Don't worry so much about what you have to say. Focus on listening and learning and paying close attention to every moment. When you're in those meetings, resist the temptation to do other things like checking email and other stuff. Focus on the conversation. And pay attention to what's being said. And Joyce does this observations game with people and think about what did I observe? What's important that's going on? Take every moment to boost your learning and get every edge you can.

Yeah, and don't spend time wasting time at work. Now, don't get me wrong, it's good to network. Absolutely. Even on Zoom, it's good to network. But at the end of the day, can you look back and say, wow, I'm proud of what I did today? I'm proud of it. Remember, at Bender, our goal is not just jobs. Our goal is a career. And with that, I see it's on the half hour, and it is time for our news break. With the incredibly great Perijude Ratajkic. And are you with us, Peri?

Joyce, I'm here.

I just want you to know, Peri, I have received countless compliments about you and this Newsbreak. And it's coming to be known that if you want to know what's going on for people with disabilities in the news. You know, we're not on CNN or MSNBC or, you know, the weekly or nightly world news as far as, oh, this is what's going on in the disability community. It's never on. And what I was told now on a number of occasions, you know what I love? I love that you can go to Bender for the news. And I am so lucky to have the CEO of Disability Rights PA as my— and disability rights leader as our news person, because just so you know, she is really smart and she takes a lot of time to prepare for this. So without— with no more— hey, Perry, take it away.

Hey, thanks, Joyce Bender. Uh, it's good to hear Gerald. I was in a meeting with him earlier today for Rev Up Pennsylvania, so Go Rev Up PA. So Joyce, I want to talk about the final web accessibility rule for state and local governments. This is so important. People with disabilities, your listeners, state and local governments provide us with many key services through their websites and mobile applications. It's Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act that requires state and local governments to ensure their services are accessible to people with disabilities. This includes websites and mobile applications. Now, the Justice Department never issued a regulation that tells state and local governments what the Justice Department expects and what the requirements are for web and mobile apps. Now, it was always a requirement that state and local governments follow the law, but they didn't have this regulation in place. So Justice Department has remedied this. They published a proposed rule in 2023, and it was on April 24th of this year that they published a final rule. So again, as your listeners know, state and local governments provide so many services to us, and those websites and mobile apps have to be accessible. Now there's a technical standard that will support the Americans with Disabilities Act. So here's a quick overview of those requirements. The rule applies to public entities covered by Title II. So what does that mean? State, local governments, but subgroups of state and local governments, so commissions, Utilities, those sorts of entities have to comply with Title II. It applies to web content and mobile apps, whether it was produced by the state or local government or they contracted with somebody to produce that information. And it provides technical standards on what it means to be accessible. Now, there's current obligations in place People may say, well, if the ADA's been around since 1990, why now do they have to comply? No, they've always had to comply. It's just now there are these requirements that clarify their obligations and provide a little more information to state and local entities. Now, there are a couple exceptions. So here are the exceptions. If web content has been archived, so that doesn't need to come into compliance. If a document's been pre-existing, that doesn't have to come into compliance. If it's a password-protected individualized document, like our water bills, that would fall under an exception. Now, here's the thing.

Hold on, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, water bill, water bills. And what else did you say?

Water bills and, and a pre-existing document that was used to apply for a program or service or some old content that's— or archived content on a website. Now Joyce, here's the thing. We could say, well, how can you not make a water bill accessible? No, no, no.— the entity still has to provide the accommodation to make sure someone could read and pay their utility bill. So it still has to be provided in an accessible format to people who require it. So that's the— yes, there are exceptions, but it doesn't get state and local governments out of the obligation to still provide that reasonable accommodation and provide the format that is accessible to people with disabilities. Advocacy matters, Joyce.

Yeah, I have some questions here. So like, would Alka-San be covered by this?

I'm sorry, say that company again.

Alka-San. Alka-San, uh, like they are, I think, the sewage for Allegheny County. Yes, absolutely, they would be covered. All right, so my question is, why Why was this never enforced before, or why did people think they could not do it?

Well, they were always under an obligation, and there were lawsuits around web accessibility with state and local governments under Title II of the ADA. It's just now the Department of Justice has decided that it's best to write a regulation and to do this now, so they started that process. It's been advocates, Joyce. That's why advocacy matters. Advocates were key in advocating and telling the Justice Department, "Look, could you release a final rule on web accessibility?" And so that's how this came about.

Now, how— I wondered about this. State and federal, right? State and federal.

Federal does, but it's state and local. Yes, that's right.

Uh, because what I'm wondering is, for example, well, you think federal. I know many places I was at meetings where they said, well, we don't know if we have the budget. And the person spoke up from civil rights and said, excuse me, this is the law, you have to do this. But did this, when this come out, did it state, did it apply to federal, or did it only state, state and local?

So it only was related to Title II, which is state and local governments. Now, every entity, even besides— we still have Section 504 of the Rehab Act that says programs and services have to be accessible to us. So someone might be able to argue, well, I don't have the funds to make the whole website accessible right now, but they are still under an obligation to provide the material in an accessible format. That would include the federal government.

Okay. Wow, I'll tell you what, this is great news. This is great news, and you know, it's a matter of time, Perry, when it will impact federal contractors. 508 being enforced. But right now, this is really great, great news. Make sure you go to disabilityrightspa.org and go to Advocacy Matters. Perry, loved having you on. Great, great to hear you.

Yeah, we'll talk to you next week, Joyce.

Okay, thanks. Bye-bye. Sure. Um, is she not awesome, Gerald?

She's the best news anchor in America.

Yes, she is the best news anchor. I mean that, America. There is no doubt about it. You know, Gerald, when you were talking about the key things, I know a lot of people think appearance does not matter, like for example on Zoom or Teams. When they're interviewed. Could you just talk about that one minute?

Oh, yeah, I'd love to. People think appearance doesn't matter anymore, but it absolutely does, especially when you don't know who it matters to. You've got to have a good appearance at work. And the reality is, the career reality for people with disabilities is we got to stand out against The rest of them, we got to get every leg up we can. So, we got to go out there and have the best appearance we can. We got to beat our coworkers at this game. And you got to think what the direction you want to go is. If you want to be a manager one day, you want everyone to look at you and think you look like a manager right now, not when that job opening shows up, but now. So they start investing in you to get the skills, to get the tasks and assignments that matter, to get the things that'll help you grow in that direction. And the number one mistake people make, I see now with this, is at work on Zoom or Teams, just not turning on their camera. And if nobody sees you, you aren't present. And if you don't make any appearance at all, it's easy to get forgotten about. And if you get forgotten, you're not going to get that opportunity to move up. You've got to put in that effort. You got to be there. Got to turn on the camera and make that positive appearance every day because you never know who's going to be on a meeting. That you could make that great connection with.

Oh, that's so true, you know, and we know what you're doing. What I mean by that, I'm on this national board and I'm always on camera, and, uh, I noticed that out of this large national board that other than this executive director and the assistant to this executive director. There may be only 3 other board members on, and of course I'm thinking, I know what you're doing because you're also on mute, you're doing other things. I always think, oh, they better hope they're not called on, you know what I mean? But they know that at work too. When you have a job, don't think that They haven't figured that out. So, in conclusion, be at work early every day with a smile on your face. Never be ashamed of your disability. And when you get a job, remember, it's a treasure. Don't lose it. Gerald, thank you for being with us.

Happy to be on, Joyce Bender. Thank you for having me.

All right. Lead on, Gerald Bender.

Thanks, Joyce.

Well, now we talked about Bender Consulting Services, our for-profit company, but now we're going to talk about the Bender Leadership Academy that, uh, I created over 21 years ago. And I did volunteer work all those years until 2018 when we became a 501, and I love it. As a matter of fact, I was just on a graduation virtually this morning, and I'm so thrilled to have Scott with us, Mr. Scott Hammerstrom, who is also my pirate— pirate— Pittsburgh Pirates buddy, a political junkie that I talk to all the time., and he runs the Bender Leadership Academy. He's just the most wonderful person. Scott, welcome to the show.

Joyce, thank you for having me on.

Of course. And Scott, maybe before I start asking you some of these questions, um, maybe you can tell everyone what the Bender Leadership Academy is, what we do.

Absolutely. So we are a nonprofit organization founded in 2018, as you mentioned, and we focus on youth with disabilities and get them ready for the world of employment. So we're teaching our students the soft skills, the resume building, interviewing, speaking in public. We talk about financial literacy. We talk about bullying. We talk about all these different things to make them successful in getting that first job. And we have many, many programs. We call it a continuum of service. So, you know, we start with students who are 11 years of age up to 22.

Yes. And we are teaching, as you said, preparing for the world of work, how to fight bullying, leadership, public speaking. And oh, my goodness, Scott, that graduation today. I want you to just focus on— because I already told— a woman was in our office who is running for state representative. I had to tell her that story about the person that went on the interviews for a job. Would you mind talking about that?

Well, we've had— we had two graduations today and a bunch of students because of— we call it our certifications class. So we are teaching our students customer service skills and basic computer literacy skills. And they receive certifications, national certifications, once they complete the course. And a few of our students were— when they were interviewing and talked about, you know, taking these classes and being certified in these computer basic skills or customer service skills, and that helped them get the job over other people because of what they are learning in school in this class. And that's what we're all about is employment. And so we know, you know, from just listening to them, these classes are working. They are helping them and they're getting jobs.

Oh, I mean, that was so awesome. That was just great. You know, what they were saying is I went on it like this one young student, one young male went on an interview to a movie theater. And he said, and I came in as the final interviewer, and he got the job, and they said it's because of that Bender certification. So it's so great to see. These students and how happy they are. And we have just so many great students, so many wonderful things going on.

This is the best year ever.

Jude, Jude, who also lives with epilepsy, is just— oh my goodness, he wrote the most beautiful letter. So Scott, make sure he listens to this show.

I absolutely will.

But Scott, we have a lot of great programs, but one is the mentor-mentee program. I thought we could talk about that.

Oh, absolutely. So Joyce, Joyce Bender Leadership Academy, we partnered up with a nonprofit organization called Partners for Youth with Disabilities, and we received a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. And with that grant, we were able to start the Bender Mentoring Initiative. And so it is another program that we put into our curriculum there. And so we are looking for mentors and mentees. So for mentors, we are looking for people who are 18 and older. And for mentees, we are looking for youth with disabilities between 11 and 17. And what we are going to do is a 1-year match between the mentor and mentee. We are asking like 4 to 6 hours per month. Just a weekly contact with them. Monthly check-ins. And the reason for this is we are trying to help our students make sure that they are staying on the right track, staying in school, build a resource network, talk about career plans, what they want to do, engage in their community, hold leadership positions. We are just trying to get them, like I said, there are a lot of our students they have bad home situations or they're getting in trouble at school or truancy. We're just trying to keep them on the right track.

Yeah, and so that is a great program. But you know what that means? If you know of any— what did you say the age limit is, Scott?

For mentees, 11 to 17. But for mentors, you don't have to have a disability, but if you're interested in mentoring somebody with a disability between 11 and 17. As long as you're over 18, you'll be able to participate.

Okay, and so I'm mentioning this to you because it's only 4 hours, as Wysted said, it's only 4 hours a month. It can be virtual. It could be taking someone to a ballgame. I mean, it's really not asking a lot. But if you have a chance to save someone's, uh, from falling through the cracks of life and ending up in prison, this is such a great program. Now we are looking for mentees, so any young people you know in the age we just told you that you feel has been left out, we really need you to send us those, those students. Scott, how would they do that?

They can either call me at 412-446-4448, or they can just go to our website, which is benderleadership.org.

And I know that we have a great employee at the Bender Leadership Academy, Stephanie Law. And if I understand this right, we don't just send someone to someone's house, right? Isn't there a rigorous process involved?

There is a— yeah, it's safety first. So there is a very rigorous process. You know, we're doing background checks, we're doing references, we're gonna, you know, visit the house just to make sure everything is safe. And then, you know, we're gonna— before we even match up the 3 of them, like with Stephanie, will get together and talk just to make sure it is a good fit first. You know, we want to make sure it is a positive experience for that year between the mentor and mentee. And we are trying to kind of match them up with sort of similar interests or locations to make sure it is the best fit all around.

So you do not need to worry about that. We are very cautious here. Scott, What about, oh, the Mary Brooker Mental Health Initiative and #NotAshamed? Let's talk about it.

Oh, I know this is so important to you, Joyce Bender. So the #NotAshamed campaign, it was, is part of our Mary Brooker Mental Health Initiative that we started a few years ago where we're putting in, into our curriculum talking about mental fitness and mental health advocacy. Because, you know, especially with COVID you know, youth with disabilities or young people, their mental health struggles are just increasing drastically. So we added this program into our curriculum. It has been beneficial for students. But one of the offshoots that we have, we created the Not Ashamed campaign because, you know, 1 in 4 adults have a mental health disability, 7 of 10 teens report mental health struggles. So we're trying to create a simple social media campaign where you get on camera on your cell phone to say, hey, I'm Scott Hammerstrom, I have a mental health disability, not ashamed. Or you know somebody, you're just an advocate of somebody who has one, Not Ashamed. And then you send that video in, and we are trying to get the word out there. Spread this word because we are trying to end the stigma for people who have mental health disabilities. So we had over 60 videos so far. It has been very successful, but we would love to have more videos come out and so we can spread the message about not being ashamed of having a mental health disability.

Now, let me say this, okay? There are high school students with mental health disabilities and they lose their life. You do not have to have a mental health disability. You go to benderleadership.org and you could say, "Hi, my name's Cindy Jones. I am an ally." of students with mental health disabilities. We are all not ashamed. Or you could say, hi, I'm Cindy Jones, I live with depression, I'm an accountant, not ashamed. I would really appreciate it if you would do this. All you need is your phone. But if you know you're impacting a young life, Why would you not do it? So many people with mental health disabilities, at least we could try to get to the young people. And Scott, speaking of that and anxiety, uh, and just emotional distress, what are the students like at the Bender Leadership Academy at the beginning until the end? And could you also talk about how they are required to give a speech at every class.

Joyce, it's night and day from class 1 to graduation. Class 1, they're all quiet, shy, not knowing what to expect, and then their speeches are a little bit shorter than normal. But then class 2, class 3, class 4, you see the confidence build. The, the speeches that they give are a little bit longer. You know, we have, you know, students that could be in multiple school districts. It is virtual or even in person, and they support each other. They got each other's back. If somebody is nervous or shy or, you know, scared to speak, you hear students say, "You got this," and supporting them. It is just amazing. And then by graduation, It's like no big deal for them to go up in front of the class and give their speech and present. It just, it's amazing just watching the transition from your class 1 to graduation, the confidence that all the students get from this class.

Yeah, I mean, they totally change and they, we are all about no pity. So when I say giving a speech, They give a speech at every single class. And we have a graduation ceremony. And they vote on who will be the keynote, the opener, the person that introduces me, the person that introduces the keynote. And I mean, this is not long. This is short. The whole program, maybe 15 minutes.. But let me tell you, they invite family, friends. It's like such a big deal to get up there and receive that certificate. What were you going to say, Scott?

I say, Joyce Bender, and then like you said, with the families, the parents going there for graduation and seeing their, their child, you know, speak in front of the confidence, they sometimes have no idea what they've what they have accomplished, and they're in shock, like, I can't believe my kid is doing this and presenting and, and the knowledge that they're, they're gathering. So it's, it's, um, I think the parents get more out of it than the students sometimes as well.

I do too. I think the same thing. Uh, Scott, a question, another question I have. If people have young children or they're at a school. Well, wait, tell them about Disability Mentoring Day.

Sure, so Disability Mentoring Day, that's sort of my baby. I've been working on that since then for 17 years now. It's a national program run by the American Association of People with Disabilities, but we are the national or the Pennsylvania coordinator for Disability Mentoring Day, and it's always the third Wednesday of every October. So I think it's October 16th this year. And every year Bender Leadership Academy coordinates between 400 and 16— I'm sorry, 400 and 600 high school students with disabilities all over Western Pennsylvania, and they go to like 30, 32 different businesses Throughout the region, like a lot of our great supporters like Heimark or Covestro, Nova Chemicals, they get to go there and learn a little bit about the, the business, get mentored. You know, we always say, like, if you go to a bank or you're in high school, if you think of a bank, you think of a teller, maybe the manager, but there's so many more opportunities with finance, human resources, IT that they get to learn about and maybe be interested in a career that they didn't know anything about before going there.

Yeah, and one thing, as you said, when those kids speak, are they not unbelievable?

Oh my goodness, yes. And we pick the best ones, Joyce, and they get to speak at our Disability Mentoring Day reception that we have, which is always the highlight every year, is our student speakers And they're competing against senators or, you know, business executives, CEOs. But all the feedback we always get is the students are the best part of the night.

Yeah, that's right. Well, hey, Scott, thanks for being with us. And absolutely anything I wanted. Yeah, I wanted to ask you, how do people get in touch with us at the Bender Leadership Academy?

Oh, please call me. You can call me at 412-446-4448, or just go to our website. There's a Contact Us, and that's benderleadership.org.

Benderleadership.org, don't forget. And earlier today, benderconsult.com. And with that, this is Joyce Joyce Bender. And you know, we end every show with a quote. So today it has to be this: competitive jobs mean freedom. I will talk to you all next week. And in the words of Mary Brooker, when you go out today, remember, choose joy. That's so much better.

Voice America would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific Time and 2 PM Eastern Time for another installment of Disability Matters right here on the Voice America Variety Channel. We are the leader in live internet talk radio. VoiceAmerica.com.