OCTOBER 2023 - October is National Disability Awareness Month (NDEAM). #NDEAM celebrates the contributions of America’s workers with disabilities.
Ray became aware of DORS "well over 20 years ago" when he worked for Ride Away and was a DORS vendor. "Who knew, later on, that I would need DORS services?!"
When he was asked to talk about his DORS experience, he said: "I think I have to pay it forward. DORS was there for me when I needed [help], so I am happy to share my story."
Ray experienced a stroke, went through a lot of PT and OT, and then the hospital recommended DORS, but "it took a couple of years to be emotionally ready, and then I contacted DORS.
"I took employment classes, interest classes, learned interview techniques… what [the classes did] was that I could look at myself as differently-abled, and I came to look at myself in a new way...When I was in the classes, I didn’t understand how the information would be useful, but it was! It helped me integrate the new me, to figure out what I could do, in a new world, which is after my stroke."
In a past career, Ray had been a lobbyist on Capitol Hill, "so everything I did was based around my ability to talk and be persuasive. When I went into sales, I used the same skill set... When I didn’t have access to that, I thought I couldn’t do anything anymore, like I was chopped in half. I was in a panic: Oh my gosh, I won’t be able to work. But time, experience, putting yourself out there, it all began to work."
Ray now works as a Mobility Manager for Jerry's Mobility Vehicles and Services. " My [own disability] experiences really changed how I work with special needs clients and their families. [I tell people] … don’t give up hope...I see people recover incredibly well. Keep on swimming, as Dori says in Finding Nemo. [And do contact DORS] DORS will help you move forward in ways that you won’t know until years later."
