Description of Image: Black background On the left is an African American female with a white off the shoulder shirt in a wheelchair. Then Queens On A Roll in Gray Letters with a purple outline with a crown on the Q. The word Roll looks like a wheelchair and the word podcast in Gray Letters with a purple outline in all four corners
In this episode I am doing another installment of i'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. I express my frustration and discuss the obstacles that we as ably different people face with employment. So Come Roll with Me!
Description of Image: Black background On the left is an African American female with a white off the shoulder shirt in a wheelchair. Then Queens On A Roll in Gray Letters with a purple outline with a crown on the Q. The word Roll looks like a wheelchair and the word podcast in Gray Letters with a purple outline in all four corners
In this episode I am doing another installment of i'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. I express my frustration and discuss the obstacles that we as ably different people face with employment. So Come Roll with Me!
(Instrumental Music) You gotta Dstackz Beat
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(Instrumental Music) Yeah, I gotta Dstackz beat.
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(Instrumental Music) Listen to the beat y'all
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(Instrumental Music) Come on, Dstackz, bring it in.
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(Instrumental Music & Singing) Wooo Queens On A Roll, Woohoo Queen On A Roll
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(Instrumental Music & Singing) Beautiful Queens, Queens, Queens On A Roll
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(Instrumental Music & Singing) She's educating and inspiring everyone that has challenges Queens, Queens, Queens On A Roll
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(Instrumental Music & Singing) She's educating and inspiring everyone and having fun she's Queens On A Roll
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(Instrumental Music & Singing) Wooo Queens On A Roll OOO Who Queen On A Roll
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(Instrumental Music & Singing) Powerful Queens On A Roll
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(Instrumental Music & Singing) Beautiful Queen On A Roll
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(Instrumental Music & Singing) Come Roll With Us, OO Who Come Roll with Us
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(Instrumental Music & Singing) Come Roll With Us, Woohoo Come Roll with Us!
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(Instrumental Music & Singing) Wooo Queen On A Roll, Wooo Who Queen On A Roll
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(Instrumental Music & Singing) Ooo Queens, Queens, Queens & Bells Chiming
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Hey Everyone! And Welcome Back to Queens On A Roll podcast
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This is Latavia here, and I'm back with another installment
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of I'm Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired.
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Alright, let's roll.
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(Instrumental Music)
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(I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired when is change gonna come Sound Effect)
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So I am so sick and tired of being
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sick and tired of employment opportunities being scarce or
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difficult for individuals in the ably different community.
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When is that going to change?
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We want to work, but there's always
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three obstacles in front of us.
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So buckle up and get ready because I am
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going to tell you all about them.
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(Buckle Up & Get Ready Sound Effect)
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The first hurdle is when we go on an
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interview and they don't hire us even when we
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have the credentials, because you can see on their
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faces they are thinking we will be a liability.
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Now, I know some of y'all may
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be thinking, but the ADA protects us
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against discrimination based on our disability.
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And it does.
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But let's be honest, it has to be explicitly stated
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like, we are not going to you because we
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can't accommodate your needs at this place of employment.
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But nine times out of ten, that's not what we get.
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It's implicit.
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You walk into the interview and you get the
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looks, the shocked look, and you can just feel
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you won't get the job because of your disability.
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And they say, we appreciate you and we will give
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you a call back, but you never get one.
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Now tell me, how are we supposed to
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make a case for discrimination with that?
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I remember one day when I was going down for
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an interview and my mom drove me to the interview.
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We were sitting, waiting for the interviewer
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to come out and she said, Latavia.
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And she looked straight at my mom, I guess because
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she was expecting my mom to be the interviewee.
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But when I decided to roll up and go into
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the office, she had a shocked look on her face.
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That's some of the things that we face all the time.
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And enough is enough.
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The second hurdle is the fear of losing
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the SSI or Social Security income check.
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And for most ably different people, it's not so
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much about losing the money as it is losing
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the security that it provides us with, because it
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provides us with a lot of security.
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But when we start working, that Social Security income
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goes away because they start cutting the check.
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Because at least in New York State,
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you can only make $1,767 a month. Yes, that's right.
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You heard me.
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$1,767 a month.
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If you make over that, which you will, especially if
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you work full time at the minimum wage, which is
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$15 an hour, they will cut you off.
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But that's not the only thing that gets cut off.
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The medicaid does, too.
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And we need the Medicaid to pay
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for our medical needs and medical equipment.
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Now, some of you may say, well, you can apply
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for Medicaid separately, and you're right again, we can.
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But the amount we can't make over
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for Medicaid is $934 a month.
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Yes, let me say that again for you, $934 a month.
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So at this point, you're damned if
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you do, damned if you don't.
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Because our employment income may not be steady, because when we
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don't feel well, we can't go to work, or if our
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chair breaks down, we are forced to stay home.
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And some of us live on our own, so we
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have bills to pay, like rent and a light bill.
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So we are forced to quit because we rather have
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a steady source of income and medical needs versus a
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paycheck that may fluctuate due to our condition.
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So I think what the government should do for people who
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are ably different and receiving an SSI check, I think they
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should put us on a 90 day probationary period just like
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they would do if we started a new job.
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They put us on a 90 day probationary period,
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and after the 90 day probationary period, if we're
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still on the job, then slowly decrease the amount
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of the check but leave us on Medicaid because
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some jobs don't give us medical insurance.
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And we need Medicaid to make sure that our
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medical equipment, which the most important one, is our
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wheelchair so that we can get to and from
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work, is in tip top shape.
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So they should definitely leave us on Medicaid.
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Which leads me to my third hurdle.
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When you finally do get a job, sometimes the
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place may not have the accommodation you need to
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even work there, which is absolutely ridiculous.
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I mean, most of the time, these
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accommodations are not difficult at all.
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It's an accessible restroom and sometimes a
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desk for you to sit at.
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So it's not complicated.
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I say an accessible restroom
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because sometimes there isn't one.
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Sometimes you can't even get in the bathroom or you
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can't even move to turn around in the restroom.
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And sometimes you need a desk to sit at because they
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don't have desks that are high enough for you to be
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able to sit up while sitting in your wheelchair.
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So these are simple accommodations, and sometimes, even when you are
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on a job or when you're going for a job, you
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have to be very strategic about where you decide to work
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and in what capacity you decide to work.
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So, for example, I decided to become an independent contractor,
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not really by choice, but by necessity, because it gives
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me the flexibility I need to work and take care
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of my medical needs because if I was on a
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regular nine to five at a facility, if I needed
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to take off, I have to request it.
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They have to grant it and then I can take off.
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That is not feasible, especially
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if my wheelchair breaks down.
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That happens sporadically.
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So being an independent contractor SLP allows me
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to take off when I need to.
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So basically I'm my own boss and
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I can decide that for myself.
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Then sometimes you have to be apprehensive about furthering
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your career and applying for a new job because
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let's say you get the new job.
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You have to advocate for accommodations in addition to
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making sure you are performing your job responsibilities to
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the best of your ability, which is a headache.
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Sometimes you're just like it's not worth the aggravation
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and you want to scream and cry because you're
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like why is everything so easy for our able
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body counterparts and not for us?
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Why do we always have to think of
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extraneous factors just to do what they do?
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It's not fair and it needs to change now!
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(Delayed Beat Sound Effect)
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I'm not entirely sure of how to change it
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Maybe we should start with government mandating, that things
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be in place for people who are ably
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different to work at different places of employment.
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Or maybe it's just gonna take the able body community
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not seeing us as a liability but as an asset.
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And when is that going to change? I don't know.
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Maybe it's when they see more of us in the workforce.
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That's why we have to keep going.
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We have to keep fighting and we have
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to keep fighting to be seen and heard.
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Working is something that we all want to do, right?
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But it is very hard for
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people who are ably different.
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We have to think of so many different things.
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So things definitely do need to change and
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it is very, very aggravating and everyone who is
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out here listening, who is ably different.
(10:17.5 - 10:19.5)
If you are trying to find a job,
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if you're in the process of interviewing, please
(10:21.9 - 10:24.1)
don't give up, please don't get discouraged.
(10:24.2 - 10:25.8)
Continue to do so.
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They need to see more of us out here being productive
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members of society and just out there in the workforce.
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So please keep going.
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I'm telling you, if it happened for
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me, it will happen for you.
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We just gotta keep fighting to
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be seen and to be heard.
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So on that note, I would like
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to leave you guys with a quote.
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So it is time for the quote of the episode!
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(Instrumental Music)
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The quote is by Martin Luther King Jr.
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If you can't fly, then run.
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If you can't run, then walk.
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If you can't walk, then crawl.
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But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.
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And that so much embodies this episode, right?
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Because we are going to face so many challenges,
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not just in the workforce, but just in life,
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in general just because we have disabilities and just
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because sometimes it can be difficult for us.
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But we have to keep pushing forward through all of
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that so that we can be seen and heard.
(12:13.2 - 12:16.5)
And eventually, if we keep persevering, if we keep
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pushing to be seen and heard, we will finally
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get to the finish line and be seen and
(12:22.9 - 12:25.2)
heard and people will take us seriously.
(12:25.3 - 12:28.9)
People will know we are a part of society and we are
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out here doing our thing just as much as they are.
(12:32.9 - 13:21.8)
(Instrumental Music)
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So thank you guys so much for joining me today!
(13:25.7 - 13:29.1)
I so appreciate you sharing, subscribing
(13:29.2 - 13:30.9)
and running my numbers up.
(13:31.0 - 13:32.3)
You guys are awesome.
(13:32.4 - 13:34.7)
I do have a patreon account if you would
(13:34.7 - 13:37.4)
like to donate to Queens On A Roll podcast.
(13:37.5 - 13:40.2)
I will put the link in the comments in my YouTube
(13:40.3 - 13:44.5)
channel, my Instagram, my Facebook page and my Tik tok.
(13:44.6 - 13:47.1)
I would greatly appreciate your support.
(13:47.2 - 13:50.0)
I love you guys so, so much.
(13:50.1 - 13:51.6)
Thank you again.
(13:51.8 - 13:53.2)
You guys are awesome.
(13:53.4 - 13:55.3)
If you have any questions for me,
(13:55.3 - 13:59.6)
you can reach me at queensonaroll.podcast@gmail.com.
(13:59.8 - 14:04.1)
Again, my email is queensonaroll.podcast@gmail.com.
(14:04.2 - 14:05.5)
You guys are awesome.
(14:05.7 - 14:08.7)
Thank you again so, so, so much.
(14:08.8 - 14:10.6)
And we are rolling out!
(14:10.6 - 14:13.3)
See you guys next week! Bye!
(14:13.3 - 14:59.4)
(Instrumental Music)
(14:59.4 - 15:07.3)
PLEASE go follow our insta @queensonaroll.podcast & FB Queens On A Roll & submit those questions to queensonaroll.podcast@gmail.com