Disability Simulation Activity To Help Raise Awareness - KAUZ-TV: Newschannel 6 Now | Wichita Falls, TX

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month so, PROMOTE (Providing Real Opportunities Made Obtainable Through Employment) is doing a disability simulation activity to help raise awareness in Texoma.

PROMOTE is a local interagency alliance whose mission is "to advocate for removing barriers to employment for people with disAbilities."  They have members from the following organizations:   Work Services Corp., Workforce Solutions, DARS Division for Blind Services, DARS Division for Rehabilitative Services, MSU -Disability Support Services office, Region IX, Texas Veterans Commission and Disability Rights Texas.

They have recruited five prominent business men and women from the local area to participate in a series of disability simulations - including Newschannel 6 Chris Horgen.   These men and women will go about their normal work day, but will do so with a simulated disability.  (The proposed disability simulations include:  partial blindness, lack of mobility/use of wheelchair, hearing deficiency, hand impairment, and schizophrenia/hearing voices.) .  This is a community of skilled individuals who are overlooked by employers in the hiring process. The goal of this project is to prove that individuals with disabilities can and do work, this is the largest untapped workforce any community has.