In this episode of the Black Women’s Health Show, host Zaakirah Muhammad celebrates the 50th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month and the 30th anniversary of Oklahoma’s Department of Rehabilitation Services (OKDRS). She interviews Valencia M. Wilson, the program manager for OKDRS, who shares her personal journey into disability advocacy, her educational background, and her dual role as a licensed professional counselor. Wilson outlines the suite of services OKDRS provides—including individualized vocational rehabilitation, transition services for youth, mental‑health adjustment training, and a dedicated Benefit Planning Department that assists clients with Social Security and other public benefits. She offers practical guidance on how individuals can apply for services (website, hotline, local offices), tips for newly disabled adults, and advice for parents navigating their child’s transition to adulthood. The conversation concludes with Wilson reflecting on the legacy she hopes to leave—ethical, exemplary service to God, family, community, and her profession. Throughout, the episode emphasizes the importance of personalized support, equitable employment outcomes, and accessible resources for people with disabilities in Oklahoma.
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Welcome to the Black Women's Health Show. So I am Zaakirah, and this is an extension of the See Life Different podcast. So we have the Black Women's Health Show every Thursday, 3:30 PM Central Time, 4:30 PM Eastern, and we are talking about medical disparities. So I am your host, Zaakirah, and I am a brand cultivating strategist and author, and I raise awareness for medical disparity because I'm also an indigenous Black woman who is marginalized and checked off all of the diversity boxes. So today we are celebrating a lot of anniversaries, a lot of firsts, one of it being the 50th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. And according to the U.S. Department of Labor, they're honoring the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 by choosing to advance access and equity. And it's also the 30th anniversary of Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services, also known abbreviated on social media As OKDRS. On July 1st, 1993, OKDRS had been mandating that they educate students who are blind, deaf, helping adults with disabilities to make sure that they find employment and understand that they are eligible for medical resources and even to receive Social Security disability benefits. So today's special guest is Valencia M. Wilson.
Wilson.
who has been employed with the state of Oklahoma for 15 years. For the past 13 years, she has served as a vocational rehabilitation specialist, and now for the last 2 years has been the program manager for the Oklahoma State Department of Rehabilitation Services, OKDRS. She also holds an undergraduate degree in sociology and a graduate degree in rehabilitation counseling from Langston University. In addition to her full-time role at OKDRS, She is also a licensed professional counselor and a supervisor for the Community Mental Health Agency. So she's very passionate about advocating for individuals, especially with diversity and disabilities. And we're going to talk about why she enjoys doing what she's doing when she's not working and spending time with her husband and 3 children. So, Valencia, thank you so much for being here. How are you today?
Good afternoon, Ms. Zaakirah. Thank you so much. I'm feeling great today. Thank you again for this platform to be able to discuss with you why we are here in the community, the Oklahoma Rehabilitation Services, and what the resources are for individuals with various types of disabilities, health, mental health, physical health, blindness, deafness of the sorts. We are just so excited to be able to bring to you in on his story.
And thank you also for your advocacy. And you're very passionate about it. You know, you've been— you've studied it, you do it on the side, but why are you so passionate about it?
Well, Zaakirah, my why, really, I kind of fell into it, I would say over 20 years ago. I have a family member, as we all do. We are all, you know, diverse individuals and all have individuals in our families. That we assist. This particular family member has a mental health illness, and just assisted her with finding employment. When things went wrong on that employment, I was her advocate, trying to assist her with sustaining that employment. And so just for years, I was doing it, and I didn't know it. And so it was just so befitting that I, when I decided to further my education at Langston University, That I connected with individuals who assisted with leading me down the right path to be able to earn my undergraduate in the sociology field as well as the master's in rehabilitation counseling. And I can honestly tell you, Zaakirah, that every single day that I walk into that building, my passion is fulfilled. I am truly doing what I believe God has called me to do.
Absolutely. And that's what matters the most. You know, when you're walking in your purpose, you would definitely be aligned with people who would And I think, I feel that that's the missing piece when it comes to making sure that there's less discrimination in the disability employment awareness. So I have a personal story. Although I am an entrepreneur now, I have had my fair share of working jobs. But I remember before applying for the job, I would hide my disability, my different ability, because I'm not sure how would they actually handle it. So I would tell them once I get hired. But I was like, let me not say anything until I get hired just to see what they would do. So what are some resources that people who may be wanting to apply for jobs, but they don't even know that they have resources out there, what are some tips and resources that you have for people?
So the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services, as I stated, we assist individuals with various types of disabilities. And you would start with an application. You can reach us on the website at www.okdrs.gov. Or our free hotline at 1-800-845-8476 in our Oklahoma City corporate office, and they will connect you with the right individuals and offices throughout the state. We're all— we have offices all throughout the state of Oklahoma, and we go follow according to the zip codes. So here in Tulsa, we have all of our territories split up. We're split by the zip codes, and you just call into the office or to the hotline, and they'll connect you right to who you need. And every case that we have is individualized, so we have no cookie-cutter plans. We're really trying to connect with that individual to meet their individual needs for a successful employment outcome.
Yes, and I definitely hear that because that's kind of what I hear makes a difference, especially for those applying for schools, right? Needing that cookie cutter, that hands-on, that here's how we can help you get there. Voc rehab, I know, is super important, especially for those who get different abilities and become disabled later on in life. What resources or maybe mental health tips do you have for those who really did become disabled later in life and they feel like there's no hope for them?
Okay, well, all of our vocational rehabilitation All of our employment counselors are master-level counselors. So we have studied and we've been trained to deal with our clients in that individual way. Whether it's they're newly disabled, we provide adjustment training for that individual to help them along in life. They may not be ready for that employment just yet. So there's some counseling, there's some adjustment training that needs to happen first. for individuals who have had a disability. Maybe it was congenital or through childhood. We, we are trained just all along the steps of life, the lifespan of the person, to be able to accommodate their needs.
Okay, and so speaking of having specific people to accommodate their needs, I think it's super important. I remember when I was getting into I was in high school. And so for me, I've always been prepared for the worst, right? I can see you now, but I'm always prepared for not being able to see you. I can hear you now, but I'm always prepared for not to. But had I not had my voc rehab services, I probably wouldn't have known that. So what are your tips for the parents? Let's flip it to the other side. What about the parents who are ready to just, you know, they know they want to support their child some way or another because they're about to almost be empty nesters, Mm-hmm. But it's not a difficult— it's not an easy transition. So what are your tips for parents?
You're exactly right, Zaakirah. Our department has what we call Transition Services, and that's probably what you're speaking of, for our youth starting at age 16. And it does exactly that. It prepares them for that transition. What is their next step after high school? Is it going to be vocational training? Is it going to be college training? Is it going to be job placement? And so we work closely with our parents because Yes, they maybe not, they don't want to let go so soon. They don't want individuals, they don't want their, their child to be discriminated against. They want them to be treated fairly. They want them to be able to go into employment and to apply the, the regular or the normal way. And by the way, we keep the words normal and regular out of our vocabularies. So anyway, we want to give that parent the assurance that That they are in good hands with our most able staff, our master's level professional staff, and to be able to walk them down the aisle to move them towards employment with courteous and professional services.
Okay. Got it. And so one of the other aspects as well is Social Security disability benefits. Maybe talk about that process, because I think what's happening is people read the headlines about all the changes that's going on, but maybe They really have no idea what OKDHS actually does to really assist them in that aspect.
Yes. Our clients who are on Social Security benefits, our department has a specific department for that, which is called our Benefit Planning Department. And those individuals are also master-level clinicians, and they have a certificate in their Social Security curriculum and services that they can offer to our clients. They are allowing that individual to be independent. They are providing clients' rights and clients' choices, clients' consent as to how much money that they can earn that may coincide with their benefits so that they are able to keep their medical benefits and/or if they have a cash benefit. Now, DRS is in the business of assisting individuals, those individuals who can and want to come off of those Social Security rolls. So we are, we're trying to get them to that skill or to that educational level where they are able to earn a livable wage, gain full employment. But we do have a whole department dedicated to just professional education to our clients about their Social Security benefits as it relates to their housing. possibly their SNAP benefits or any other type of public benefits. So they're— they can be well taken care of at our department and would not have to worry and receive open and honest communication about their Social Security benefits.
Absolutely. And just from hearing you share that, um, sounds like everyone's really in good hands with, uh, all the resources that OKDRS provides. And so we are almost done with the conversation, and so I want to I think I want to ask one interesting question I love to ask all my guests is, what do you want your legacy to be?
Oh wow, my legacy. I would say that I would want to be remembered as ethical. I would want to be remembered as exemplary. Not exemplary in the form of perfection, you know, none of us are perfect. But I want to make sure that I've done my best every single day, day by day, hour by hour, of good service, the best service that I can give first to God, to my husband, to my children, to my community, and to my work. Zaakirah, we can be located on the website at www.okdrs.gov. You can call us at 1-800-845- That's 1-800-845-8476. Locally, you can reach myself at our office at the Sun Building. That's at 907 South Detroit, Suite 910. Again, my name is Valencia Wilson. I am the programs manager for the adult unit for the VR services. I really appreciate you taking the time to listen to We me. really Thank you. appreciate your time today.
Thank you, Miss Valencia Wilson. All right, so please continue to listen to the Black Women's Health Show every Thursday at 4:30 PM Eastern, 3:30 PM Central Time on the Greenwood Beat, online on our website at thegreenwoodbeat.com or on TuneIn and Apple Radio. And be sure to tune in and tag us on social media. Tag us @sealifedifferent on social media or @sealifedifferentpod Or @TheGreenwoodBeat and let us know your favorite parts about the episode. Until then, we'll see you next Thursday.
