Linkages Greater Focus on Advocacy

Linkages was founded in 1997 and was a non-profit until 3 years ago when it became a program at Direct Advocacy & Resource Center (Direct). Direct was excited to have Linkages as a program focused on advocating the benefits of hiring people with disabilities to employers because advocacy work is at the heart of Direct’s mission – Advocating voice, choice, and independence for people with disabilities.   

Over the past 3 years, there have been changes to focus Linkages’ work on advocacy. One of the biggest and most recent adjustments made was phasing out the Linkages website and job board. This decision was not made quickly, but after connecting with stakeholders who use the Linkages program, we learned that none of them found value in using the website or job board.

As a small non-profit, it did not make sense to maintain something with financial and human resources that our stakeholders did not find helpful. Also, it felt counter to who we are as a Center for Independent Living to maintain a segregated job board.  Moving forward, we will focus our efforts on advocating for equal access and competitive, integrated employment.

People with disabilities should be able to use any job board available to the public. They should also be able to attend any job fair open to the community.

Through focused efforts on advocating for access, there will ultimately be more opportunities for people with disabilities.  The Linkages program is still linking employers to job seekers with disabilities through our Employment Specialist Network. Learn about how you can get involved https://www.directaz.org/about-linkages.