NYAPRS
Len Statham, Employment and Economic Self Sufficiency
Specialist lens@nyaprs.org
(585) 490-3979

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A statewide coalition of people who use and/or provide community mental health recovery services and supports dedicated to improving services and social conditions for people with psychiatric disabilities by promoting their recovery, rehabilitation and rights
Members Services and Technical Assistance
 Grassroots Advocacy E News Regional Forums
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Annual Conference Exec Seminar PROS Academy
Service Transformation
Community and Economic Development
Peer Services
Cultural Competence website www.nyaprs.org

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Participants will learn how culture drives outcomes and outcomes drive culture
Participants will recognize the link between poverty and mental illness
Participants will come away with ten concrete steps they can implement immediately that will help them foster a culture of employment
Participants will be introduced to curriculum that will help move people along the continuum of Employment and Economic
Self-Sufficiency.

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Welcome & Expectations
Why Employment & Economic Self-
Sufficiency?
Exercise: What do we want?
“We Can Work DVD”
The Tools
Making Employment Work: Building a culture that supports work
Evaluations

Being able to provide for ourselves in order to meet our essential needs and wants.
When we are self-sufficient, we are financially independent.
When we have independence we can pursue the life we want for ourselves.

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Living with chronic worry or anxiety to meet one’s basic needs
Residing in neighborhoods where violence and deteriorating community ties leave individuals in isolation
Being so afraid of not making it without benefits that one prefers to stay in the benefits trap
Lacking transportation to take a job or a better paying job
Lacking the resources or supports to pursue a new career or advance professionally

Occupational
Financial
Social
Intellectual
Emotional
Physical
Environmental
Spiritual

Positive opinions about the future
Increase self esteem
Decrease psychiatric symptoms
Employment
Increase social contacts
Decrease potential for relapse
Increase social status
Increase income

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Name 5 things you would like to have in your life in the next year? 3 years?
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How will you acquire these things?
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Can you do it on a budget of $785 a month?

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The role of life dreams and aspirations in the pursuit of employment and economic change
– What moves people to do what they do?
– Why people would consider work or becoming more self-sufficient?
Key questions:
– What are your life dreams and aspirations?
– How would you like your life to be like in 1 year? in
2 years? In 5 years?
– What would you like to have? What would you like to be doing? Where would you like to live?
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Lesson 1: Why Is Economic Self-sufficiency Important to
Recovery?
Lesson 2: What Can Providers Do to Support Economic Self-
Sufficiency?
A recovery-oriented approach to financial wellness
What providers can do to support economic self-sufficiency: An overview
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Engaging individuals through conversations about life dreams
 Assessing readiness to pursue economic self-sufficiency
 Developing readiness to pursue economic self-sufficiency
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Creating a plan towards self-sufficiency
 Developing skills and capital to achieve self-sufficiency
 Linking and referring individuals to economic self-sufficiency services
Lesson 3: Strategies and Tools to Engage, Assess and Develop
Readiness towards Economic Self-Sufficiency
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Lesson 4: Strategies and Tools to Create a Plan towards Self-sufficiency
Lesson 5: Strategies and Tools to Develop Skills and Capital to Achieve Self-
Sufficiency
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Module 1: Budgeting
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Module 2: Accessing work incentives to increase earned income
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Module 3: Filing taxes
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Module 4: Saving
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Module 5: Clearing and building credit
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Module 6: Dealing with predatory lending
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Module 7: Getting help with addictions and financial stressors
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Module 8: Increasing social capital
Lesson 6: Strategies and Tools to Increase Access to Economic Self-sufficiency
Services
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Zero Exclusion
Application process for job development or volunteer positions
Performance Reviews
Time off request
Job Board
Achievement Board
Weekly / Monthly Forums
Workshops

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Integrated team – Everyone is on the employment team.
Everyone supports economic selfsufficiency.
Support recovery and work oriented culture
Look for job leads
Training
Jobs are celebrated milestones
Employment discussed at every staff meeting.

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“ No one ever talked to me about work.”
“I experienced that work was helpful in managing my symptoms.”
“Work gave me the confidence that I can do anything that I put my mind to.”
“Has help me to be a better person knowing that I am needed somewhere.”

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Employment time vs. Human service time.
Visits to employers using the 3 Cups of Tea
Method.
Sits on the following Business/Association
Councils: North Clinton Business Association,
Wal-Mart/City Hall Committee, Rotary Club, and Rochester Area Employment Network.
Using numerous job development strategies.
Our circle is their circle.

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Help me determine what my level of readiness to pursue employment is
Enhance my willingness to engage in activities/actions to pursue employment
Find best ways to engage me in the process
Get in touch with my hopes, preferences, values
Explore past and current experiences
Consider future possibilities
Create action steps that develop readiness
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NOT about labeling me as “ready” or “not ready” to work
NOT about screening me out or excluding me from vocational services
NOT about my capacity to work or improve my economic self-sufficiency
NOT about determining the achievability or realism of my goals
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Expectations
Reflections
Outcome-oriented
Accountability