STUTTGART, Germany -- Garrison and U.S. Army Europe officials challenged the Stuttgart military community to offer disabled persons more opportunities to work here during a National Disability Employment Awareness Month observance, hosted by the U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart Equal Employment Opportunity Office Oct. 1.
The theme of the month is "Talent Has No Boundaries: Workforce Diversity Includes Workers With Disabilities."
It's a theme that hit close to home for the observance's guest speaker Erni Moya, director for EEO at the USAREUR Headquarters in Heidelberg. During the brief ceremony, held in the Patch Community Club, Moya shared some of her personal story, which included walking with leg braces as a child.
"Indeed there are challenges in life, but I believe that everything that happens to us makes us stronger," she said.
Moya credits the encouragement she received to get an education with helping her to be a leader in her field. That is the key to helping those with disabilities, she added.
"We need to encourage persons with disabilities to pursue their goals," she said.
Moya also mentioned that being disabled can include having cancer, which is why USAG Stuttgart EEO helped to host the community's first cancer awareness relay, "Run 4 Life," later that evening.
"It is important that we pursue any requirement for accommodation not only for cancer, but if we see any requirement for accommodation," she said.
Throughout the world, U.S. agencies have been employing disabled persons through the Workforce Recruitment Program, which allows them to hire disabled college students as summer interns.
The WRP is part of a nationwide effort to place more disabled persons in federal jobs under a recent Executive Order, signed by President Barack Obama in July. The order, titled "Increasing Federal Employment of Individuals with Disabilities," was created to "establish the Federal Government as a model employer of individuals with disabilities" and requires agencies to make additional efforts to hire and retain these individuals.
During the ceremony, a short video on the WRP showed how disabled students can be accommodated in the workplace, from a special computer screen that enlarges text, to a raised desk that allows room for a wheelchair.
These are examples of what Moya would like to see in Stuttgart.
"Our world today is filled with challenges concerning our youth, but remarkably, we're living in a time of opportunity." she said. "My challenge to you today is to seek out a student to work in Stuttgart."
It can be challenging, but hiring a disabled person is worth the effort, according to Steve Matkowsky, garrison EEO program manager. He wasn't just saying that to support his program, either.
"I'm a targeted disabled veteran employee with low vision, sometimes referred to as legally blind," he said.
Hiring disabled persons is getting easier all the time, especially after the president made it a priority, Matkowsky added.
"If a manager wants to hire somebody with a targeted disability, they can," he said.
Matkowsky listed a number of ways this can be done. Schedule A is a special hiring authority in which employers can select the qualified applicant they wish to hire by name. Employers can also use the Wounded Warrior Program and Veterans Readjustment Act to hire disabled veterans, Matkowsky said.
"The possibility of hiring is there," he said. "All they have to do is take a step."
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