Some say that our "government" works and so does the social programs that the government supports to help those with disabilities to help them achieve a quality of life that is comparable with those who don't have a disability.

Well, don't believe it. The government's social programs don't always work for those with any kind of mental disability i.e. psychiatric, developmental, learning, or mental retardation.

There is three programs that do not work for those of us with a mental disability of any type in particular those of us born with a devlopmental disability, which is defined as one with onsets or develops before the person's twenty-second birthday.

These three program are : The State
Vocational Rehabilitation Services. Some states have this program listed under their State Human Services Department and they are listed as "Your State Department of Human Services/DVR, DORS, VRS and etc".

The second government program that does work for those individuals with a mental disability i.e. psychiatric, developmental, learning or mental retardation is The United States Department of Human Services/Social Security Administration Ticket To Work and Pass To Self-Support which under the Clinton Admininstration was enacted to help those persons on one of two different disablility programs to help go back to work and eventually get off of Social Security Disability or Social Security Supplementary Security Income Disability Programs.

Some other programs that don't work are Community Based Vocational Training Programs for post-secondary mental disabled high school students that some state vocational rehabilitation programs sponsor.

These Community-Based Vocational Training Programs are often used by parents to get rid of their disabled children and the parents use it as "baby-sitting" service as students are expecting to live on campus in dormintories.

This way, the students can hopefully fit into campus life and experience a time away from living away from their parents and learn to live independently.

One thing, post-secondary high school students with disabilities are not integrated into regular college classes.

Their program is separate and run by different staff.

These Community-Based Vocational Training programs do not actually give the students any actual vocational training which can be used on their resumes.

The Instructors of these Community-Based Vocational Training Progams send the students out in the community and place them in non-paying jobs to get them evaluated by certain participants that are willing to help with the students in these programs.

None of the non-paying jobs are really any good. Most of them are with local retailers and fast food chains, Goodwill Industries, and other merchants.

Non-paying internships are not with any good companies which can be used on the resumes of these students.

These Community-Based Vocational Training programs do offer the students that attend some necessity life-skills and independent living skills that the parents i.e. natural or adoptive do not teach their children.

The students learn anger mangement, money mangement, interpersonal relations skills, conflict management skills, and psyco-social skills.

Another words, parents that use this program is simply Passing The Buck onto someone else to do the job they were suppose to do but did not want to do!!!!

State Vocational Rehabilitation Programs are designed only to help those with a physical disability. Society understands those with a physical disability. This is because they can understand what they can see.

Most people unless they are so severely physical disabled have a verifiable work history. So, therefore, it is easy for a State Vocational Counselor to help to design a successful vocational program for them.

Many times they will only need to have reasonable accomodations at the work place.

I have not seen in all my life any State Vocational Rehabilitation Program ever help any one with a mental disability unless they became disabled after they started to work and were not able to go back to work until they got better.

People don't understand a disability that they can not see and society is totally responsible for the assbackward view on those of us with a mental disability i.e. psychiatric, learning, developmental or mental retardation.

Those of us with a psychiatric disabilty really have it hard, as do those of us with a learning disability.

There are successful progams designed for those who have mental retardation and developmental disabilities.

One thing, these individuals stilll feel like they don't belong and are not accepted at the work place.

The Ticket To Work and Pass To Self Support is a real joke. It does not work for any one who has a mental disability or even a severe physical disability.

Employers and other employees often make it impossible for those of us to stay on the job. They don't show sensitivty and understanding towards those of us with a disability.

We will get strange looks, and people will talk about us behind our backs rather come straight up and straight out and say it to our face. They are cowards and back-biters.

The Ticket To Work and Pass To Self-Support website only shares success stories of those persons with a physical disability . They have never share a success story of some one getting off of disabilty program with a mental disability of any kind.

This is because likely there will never be one.

Others programs that are suppose to benefit and help those of us with a mental disability- primarily a psychiatric like Triology and Thresholds does not work.

These two programs only tempt to run a person's life and don't understand what it is to have a psychiatric disability.

Goodwill Industries well that helps anyone with any kind of disability and it may or may not actually help anyone. It remains to be seen.

The only way persons with a disability in particular a mental disability will achieve any kind of quality of life is if we fight for it.

We must protest in our State Capitols and Then protest in front of the U.S.
Department of Human Services/SSA and infront of The White House and if we join voices than we will be heard.

There is power in numbers. We must all together and fight for better services for those of us with a mental disability.

If we do not most of us will continue to live in poverty and have to go without the most basic of necessities.

We need to be treated with equality, justice, and the same rights as everyone else who does not have a mental disability.

KAL