Vocational Rehabilitation Archives

Peckham’s Season of Giving

Posted In: AbilityOne/Source America, Quality Of Life, Services and Programs, Upward Mobility & Advancement

December 19, 2023

Peckham Giving Contributes $28K to Community Each year during the holiday season, Peckham commits to contributing resources and funds to support underserved individuals and families. This season, Peckham staff and board raised more than $28,000 to contribute to families in need; not only team members working at Peckham but veteran, and other underserved individuals…

Student Continues His Education in the Real World

Posted In: Quality Of Life, Services and Programs, Uncategorized, Upward Mobility & Advancement

October 27, 2023

Recently out of high school, Logan was eager to begin a career path that didn’t include further education. After being referred to Peckham’s Youth Summer Employment Program, Logan jumped at the opportunity to learn job skills and began a four-week internship at the Meijer store in DeWitt. When the internship concluded, Logan went through the…

With a Supportive Workplace, Deaf Staff Member Finds a Way to be Heard and Succeed

Posted In: 3PL and Fulfillment, Competitive Integrated Employment, Quality Of Life, Services and Programs

September 29, 2023

Janine’s employment journey before joining Peckham was challenging. Although she held positions at various companies, she struggled to maintain a full-time job. Between the typical obstacles that a deaf person faces in most workplaces and impending motherhood, Janine placed employment on hold for over 14 years. She was far from idle during that time, though:…

Pilot Study Highlights Potentially Promising Tool for Supporting Workers with Disabilities

Posted In: Disability Advocacy, Innovation, Vocational Rehabilitation

September 25, 2023

A recent research article published in Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, discusses the outcomes of a study involving avail®, a software application designed to support individuals with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities in achieving goals related to job readiness, on-the-job work tasks, and independent living. Launched in 2017, avail® was developed with the goal…

A Sudanese Refugee Finds A Home at Peckham

Posted In: Competitive Integrated Employment, Manufacturing, Quality Of Life, Upward Mobility & Advancement

August 28, 2023

Davis Burapa was born into an agrarian family in Sudan. He was told from an early age that his future lay in farming as it had for generations of people in his village community. The fact that Davis had a physical disability that affected his ability to walk unassisted bore no impact on these plans…

Battle-Tested Vet Scores Big Working in 3PL and Fulfillment Services

Posted In: 3PL and Fulfillment, AbilityOne/Source America, Disability Advocacy, Quality Of Life

May 18, 2023

3PL and Fulfillment Services forklift operator Dale Hatfield’s childhood prepared him for a military career. Not because his father was in the armed services, but because by the time Dale was nine years old, he, one of his brothers, and father had moved many times. During his teens, Dale explained that “I was constantly in…

Stephanie Ethington – Managing a Positive Change

Posted In: 3PL and Fulfillment, AbilityOne/Source America, Competitive Integrated Employment, Vocational Rehabilitation

February 24, 2023

Stephanie’s previous job driving a forklift in a large warehouse was satisfying, but their performance point standard put a lot of pressure on her to complete work that she wasn’t necessarily well trained on. As a result, they parted ways, and she was without meaningful employment for an extended period. That all changed in 2015…

ROOTS Participant Finds Success Through Perseverance

Posted In: Services and Programs, Upward Mobility & Advancement, Vocational Rehabilitation

January 31, 2023

In 2019 Peckham launched Rising Out of the System (ROOTS), a vocational rehabilitation program for those recently released from incarceration. The program is a partnership with the City of Lansing and serves former offenders who are returning to Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties. The ROOTS program offers individuals social support, such as food, clothing, and…

Three Degrees of Inspiration

Posted In: AbilityOne/Source America, Call Center Services, Competitive Integrated Employment, Upward Mobility & Advancement

January 3, 2023

Fifteen years ago, if you’d have asked Bernedette Jackson, a CSR in Phoenix, what she would be doing today, she certainly wouldn’t have said it would involve helping customers in a call center. Why? Because Bernedette has earned three degrees (her B.A., M.A. and Doctorate) in the field of education and assumed that her work…

Free-Flyer Air Force Veteran Lands Ideal Career at Peckham

Posted In: AbilityOne/Source America, Competitive Integrated Employment, Manufacturing, Upward Mobility & Advancement

November 30, 2022

Peckham’s Flint location focuses exclusively on manufacturing. There are approximately 80 team members at the Linden facility, many of whom are veterans, have a disability, or another barrier to employment. Sally is one of them. Sally has always considered herself a “free flyer,” especially when it comes to employment. She has a long list of…

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