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NDEAM 2025: Celebrating Value and Talent

by | Oct 6, 2025 | blog

October 2025

NDEAM 2025: Celebrating Value and Talent

By Braden Scheib, Associate Director of Employment Services

This year marks the 80th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). I was surprised to learn that when I first read it. I have worked in Human Services for Adults with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities and Autism (IDD/A) and related fields for nearly 20 years, and throughout my academic studies and professional experience, you got the sense that outcomes for people with disabilities did not really begin to improve until the 1990s – with the passing of the ADA. It was encouraging to discover that celebrating the impact of people with disabilities in the workforce goes back several decades prior.

The theme for NDEAM this year is “Celebrating Value and Talent,” and Mainstay is proud to be a provider of supported employment services. Additionally, we have added another service to our Employment Support program this year that will help us discover valuable and talented people with disabilities who would like to join the workforce but may feel apprehensive for a myriad of reasons.

I started providing support as an Employment Specialist to job seekers with disabilities a little more than ten years ago. At that time, sheltered workshops that paid program participants/workers less than minimum wage were still one of the more highly preferred outcomes for adults with IDD/A. Eventually, because of federal legislation and governmental initiatives at other levels, we were encouraged to reconsider whether this was the best outcome for all. Job seekers with IDD/A were presented with other options and pathways toward competitive, integrated employment.
For six years, Mainstay has provided Supported Employment services to help job seekers obtain sustainable employment outcomes. In 2025, we added another employment service called Small Group Employment. It is a precursor to competitive, integrated employment, and it is a powerful tool to help employment service providers discover a job seeker’s interests and talents. One can learn both hard and soft job-related skills in the community while being paid at a competitive rate. It is often utilized as a steppingstone along the way to competitive, integrated employment.
Since July, Mainstay has supported a 3-person work crew to complete housekeeping duties at the historic East Liberty Presbyterian Church. So far, this crew has exceeded everyone’s expectations, and we’re interested in identifying other opportunities to expand our Small Group Employment service.

Throughout the rest of this month (and for the other 11 months of the year as well), Mainstay celebrates the value and talent of job seekers who are achieving their vocational goals! Check out their stories this month on social media (we’re on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X).

If you want to learn more about Mainstay’s Employment Support, please visit our page on Mainstay’s website.

And if you are or know of an employer that is interested in hiring people with disabilities, please contact us through the website Referral Form (choose “Referral for Services: Employment Support”).

Thank you!

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