Frustrations With Ticket to Work

 Posted on October 03, 2009 in Social Security Disability

Laura from Phoenix, Arizona recently commented on my "Don't Forget Your Ticket to Work" article and talked about the drawbacks that came with her attempt to participate in the Ticket to Work program:

I feel as though vocational rehabilitation is not an option for me. After I attempted to venture out of my house and to the employment office, I ended up leaving feeling completely worthless and like garbage. The people working there looked down on me and made me feel like there was a reason I couldn't find a job and wouldn't be able to get one. I never want to go through that again. I have a degree and great skills that can be used in plenty of work settings, and yet here I was feeling like I didn't belong. I have a spine so twisted I can't do any physical labor and when I tried to explain how I wouldn't want to be set up with jobs that did that, they wouldn't even look at my x-rays, they almost made me feel like I had to justify my condition to them. I didn't deserve the horrible treatment I got there. Is there a good private agency I can go to because Ticket to Work is not for me.

My reply to Laura and others who have experienced similar problems with vocational rehabilitation is to actually interview the providers themselves and only after an interview with them decide which one you want to work with. People often connect because of their personalities and not their skills. The experience Laura had was fairly common among people who connect with vocational rehabilitation centers that fail to make a connection with their clients. It is truly unfortunate that so many employees that work for vocational rehabilitation centers make others feel like garbage. And while the entire process can be disheartening, I can assure you that the right vocational rehabilitation provider may work well for you.