I'm thinking about checking with them to see if they can help me with finding a new job or retraining for a different kind, maybe nursing informatics or utilization review. I looked at their official website and found out that to be eligible for their assistance, you have to a) have a disability and b) want to work.

I qualify on both counts. I want and need to work---I'm getting bored to tears being at home now, and financially stressed from going five weeks without a paycheck. And now my BP has crossed the line from being a pain in the @$$ to a "long-term disability" as the Employment Division calls it, even though I'm not disabled.

So, have any of you ever worked with Voc Rehab? What was the process like, and were they helpful to you? The problem with me isn't that I lack education or skills; the problem is that the economy is still crappy, and I'm closing in on 55 and mentally ill to boot.

Most employers won't want to invest time and money in someone who can't give them 25 or 30 years of service. (Not that anyone stays with one employer that long anymore, but it's a nice thought in theory.) And there's just no way that I can hide my illness forever; companies are so intrusive these days, they often ask for health histories and even med lists, and no one with half a brain could look at mine and NOT know that I am being treated for bipolar disorder.

That's why I'm interested in y'all's experiences with this agency. I need SOMEBODY'S help to find a job that's ADA-friendly, where my BP won't be held against me in hiring or used as ammunition to blast me to the curb. Thanks.