A Bridge to Employment

Aldo Aldana, then a high school senior from East Los Angeles, completed the 26-mile L.A. Marathon last year in 3 hours and 30 minutes in a wheelchair, long after the cameras, crowds and dignitaries had left.

He received no medal, no trophy, no ribbon--but what Aldana won was a job.

A representative from an organization called Bridges saw Aldana rolling across the finish line, tracked him down later at his school--Woodrow Wilson High--and asked him if he wanted a job.

Today Aldana, 21, is programs assistant for the Los Angeles County Department of Community and Senior Services and an operations clerk for Bank of America.

Aldana, who was stricken with polio as a baby, moved from Guatemala four years ago and spoke little English. He was intimidated by the prospect of work and said he had other plans after he graduated from high school.

“I didn’t think I would be working here,” said Aldana, sitting in front of his desk computer. “I thought about maybe getting a job at a restaurant washing dishes or I’d just be at home.”

Bridges is a nationwide transition project that helps set up employment opportunities for students who, like Aldana, have disabilities.

Bridges, which operates in seven cities nationwide, has placed more than 2,000 students with about 900 employers since it was launched in Montgomery County, Md., in 1989. Bridges also is active in San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago, Fairfax County, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Since its inception in Los Angeles in 1992, more than 250 students with disabilities have been placed with 100 employers.

The project is funded by the Marriott Foundation for People With Disabilities, a nonprofit organization funded in part by grants from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services.

“The core philosophy behind the program is that people with disabilities can be employees with capabilities,” said Mark Donovan, executive director of Bridges. “A lot of stereotypes have been labeled [on people with disabilities] based on what they cannot do, not what they can do.”

The Bridges program works with both students and employers to facilitate the school-to-work process.

Bridges makes presentations to special education students at participating schools and identifies those who show up at weekend follow-up meetings as those most committed to their career goals. The students selected for the program receive job preparation, including training for interviews, completing applications and dressing professionally.

For employers, Bridges conducts disability awareness training, addressing workplace issues such as communication and supervision. They also help match a job to a student’s interests and skills.

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In Aldana’s situation, Bridges staff identified his strong interest in computers and his strengths as efficiency, capacity for hard work and enthusiasm in learning computer programs.

Based on that information, Bridges introduced him to the county’s Department of Community and Senior Services. He was hired part time. His computer responsibilities include creating files for city projects, data entry and repairing programs for county agencies outside the office.

“My mom told me I should really take it easy,” Aldana said. “I told her, ‘Mom, if I’m going to die, I’m not going to die doing nothing in bed. If I’m going to die, I’m going to die doing something I really like.’ ”

After an internship with the county last summer, Aldana was offered a programs assistant position.

Polio attacked both of Aldana’s legs when he was a baby. He has voluntary movement only in his left leg and uses crutches and a wheelchair to move from place to place, including the L.A. Marathon, in which he has participated during the last three years.

Aldana is among 10% of the nation’s population considered disabled, according to the Census Bureau. Studies indicate that there are more than 18 million employed adults with disabilities in the United States. More than 12 million are unemployed.

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“That’s a startling figure,” said Armand Paez, a hiring director at United Parcel Systems, in reference to the number of unemployed. “What makes Bridges such a strong program is the diversity in the companies they work with . . . Bank of America, Target. But I think the word needs to get out more. Programs like this need to get more exposure so more companies participate.”

“They [Bridges] have provided us with strong, motivated workers,” Paez said.

Studies have found that more than 50% of the country’s 250,000 special education students who leave the school system each year are still unemployed a year later. About 4,000 special education students will leave the Los Angeles County school system this year.

Nationwide, 86% of the students participating in the Bridges program have been offered continued employment. The remaining 14% aren’t offered permanent employment because they either need additional training or because a job isn’t available, according to Bridges staff.

With the help of Bridges, Aldana is making sure he isn’t just another statistic.

“I tell students with disabilities to study hard in school, do their best and don’t lose hope,” Aldana said. “I tell them, ‘Look at me. Look at where I am now.”’