Louisville non-profit helps those with disabilities find jobs

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Discover U Kentucky and Louisville-based non-profit Zoom Group empower individuals with disabilities.

The program works alongside Zoom Group to empower individuals with disabilities through education, awareness, and advocacy. Members ages 14 and up meet both in person and online for weekly group meetings and school programming.

Thursday, Discover U hosted speaker Kentucky Protection & Advocacy Client Assistance Coordinator Beth Metzger to talk about employer rights.

“There’s an overall misconception that if a person with a disability earns one dollar, they will automatically lose their check, which is not true,” Metzger said.

Metzger comes from Kentucky’s Protection & Advocacy, an agency that protects the rights of those with disabilities. Metzger said she spoke to members about a social security program called Ticket to Work, which helps those with disabilities try out a new job, so they no longer have to rely on governmental benefits.

“A lot of persons with disabilities don’t even know that they can work, or that they have that right to work because they just rely on everyone else,” Discover U Kentucky Project Staff Floyd Brice said. “In fact, they can do a lot, and they deserve that chance.”

According to National Core Indicators, roughly one in three Kentuckians have a disability. Only 15% are employed, despite indicators showing nearly 20% of people with disabilities in Kentucky wanting to work.

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