Rant #3,720: Listen, People

There were some good responses to yesterday's Rant, but when you leave no stone unturned, there really isn't much more you can do.

One suggestion was to volunteer ... that was a good thing to do 15 years ago, but my son needs a paying job now.

He applied to one such company in recent times, and they didn't think he could pass the training.

Use Artificial Intelligence ... I did, and while my own intelligence isn't artificial, the AI bot came up with the exact same organizations that have failed my son.

Use LinkedIn ... I did that, but not one response. I had forgotten I did that several months ago, also with nothing generated.

Call an organization back ... I did, and they still haven't responded to me.

Advertise in the newspaper ... we did that--in not one, but two newspapers--and came up empty handed.

So we are back to square one, which is very upsetting.

We have a job fair to go to on a couple of days, but since I have no idea what companies will be there, i don't know if the fair will be right for my son.

He is going to be 30 years old in August. He has worked literally half his life.

He has a high school education, and has worked in both retail and office environments, as well as in summer camps.

Why is he having such a difficult time?

Well, the major problem is that the minimum wage was increased, and that is why his work hours were decreased by 75 percent.

And believe me, it isn't just my son; I have heard other special needs people who had their hours greatly reduced, or even lost their jobs.

Thus, companies may be hiring, but they are not hiring special needs workers; if anything, they are cutting these workers.

The organizations that are supposed to help special needs people have been cut themselves, so their manpower and resources have been reduced.

But they don't get a "bye" from me, because even in good times, they never helped my son.

And, even though companies get tax breaks for employing special needs workers, many companies simply won't hire these workers, for a variety of reasons ... some legitimate, some not.

And also, i am sorry to say, there are discrepancies between those who are "handicapped" and those who are "special needs" and those who are "challenged"--they share many of the same challenges and frustrations, but just as many of their challenges are quite different.

Whatever the case, during the past six months, my son and I have left no stone unturned, and we will continue to look the traditional ways, which simply have proven not to work for special needs people.

So sometimes you have to go outside the box, and I am ready, and willing, to do that.

This is my son, and I will do anything for him, and I think the time has just about come.

Nothing else works, non one is helping us, so you gotta do what you gotta do.