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Default Nov 09, 2021 at 10:40 AM
  #1
So this may be a big dream, but I'd really like to start a nonprofit that helps remove barriers regarding careers and college for people struggling with mental health issues. I'd like to begin by educating employers and college administration. But my big goal is to help link people with quality jobs, college, certifications that are hopefully lasting because of the training we provide to employers/schools to help create a better workspace for those struggling with mental health.

I feel frustrated when I see mental health awareness month all over social media and linkedin, yet so many employers keep up barriers that don't allow space for people with mental health issues. I'm speaking of the U.S. but I can imagine this can't be the only place having this issue.

I am in the very early stages of researching and I'd like to know some barriers that you struggle with and I'll share mine below!

I am diagnosed with BPD, and possibly on the autism spectrum. My barriers include:

Job applications - the chronological order and start/end date requirements of a job application are very difficult for me because I have large gaps in employment and only hold jobs for short periods.

Job descriptions/application - when jobs list a degree is required for a specific job title I've held and had experience in, and that one can perform without the need of a degree.

Job application - Including the section of where I went to college and what major I had. This is often required for online applications you can not skip this part. I did not go to college. I had quite a traumatic childhood which did not lead me down a path that one could easily go through that process. This one, in particular, is very demeaning for me because I am well educated via online training and certificates I sought out as an adult.

Asking for accommodations - whenever I have asked for ADA accommodations, I have never been met with compassion. Each time I was treated as a burden and although the employer legally followed through with their end of the deal, they did not treat me with dignity during the process.

College admissions - I recently applied to a community college and applied for financial aid and the process was very stressful and confusing. I disclosed my mental health issues to explain my struggle with understanding what they were asking of me, and then I was discriminated against. I contacted the state board of education about the issue and provided the emails and voicemails and no one ever contacted me. And I ended up not being able to attend college.

So for me personally, I think people in these types of positions of power need to be more compassionate and kind in their words. I believe employers need to reimplement training as opposed to requiring degrees for entry-level jobs. They need to understand the real difficulties we face with preserving information, emotional sensitivity, and lack of stability in our childhoods that developed into a struggle in stability in adulthood. They need to understand that just because we have mental health issues doesn't mean we can't perform well or that we are a burden.

Thanks to anyone who shares!

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Default Nov 09, 2021 at 11:46 AM
  #2
I earned straight-A's as a nontraditional disabled minority female, and I still experienced ageism, racism, ableism. I was able to get as far as earning undergraduate degrees and doing post-bacc research work, but as I tried to prepare for grad school, the support for disabled persons weakened or was even frowned upon. I tried to share with my mentor about my issues, in hopes that I would get some great pointers, but that only turned into him and I having a falling out. So that career is now gone, despite me having post-bacc research experience.

I, too, wanted to work for a nonprofit doing research. However, the research I wanted to do was focused on community traumas and victimizations - mostly unsubstantiated or unfounded in nature. There's a lot of data from arrests (both unsubstantiated, unfounded, and substantiated) as well as from convictions (substantiated only - with caveats that some crimes were reduced to other crimes that don't speak to the victim's needs). Because victims' rights aren't as strong as defendants' rights, victims tend to pay for the rest of their lives - in terms of disabilities related to trauma and loss, and then later by things like being discriminated against for having a mental disability (such as PTSD, among other things). Childhood trauma is largely included in this, because most of the claims are unsubstantiated - meaning, that they were never involved in the child welfare system; they often report their childhood traumas as adults within a therapy session. These unsubstantiated victimizations notwithstanding, survivors still hurt, and not only do they pay for the rest of their lives, so do taxpayers because most of us survivors wind up going on disability. Then, for some horrible reason, society blames the victim and discriminates against us even further as we try to upwardly mobilize through self-rehabilitation by applying for jobs and/or colleges. More often than not, we're nontraditional at this point, meaning that we are older students and disabled students trying to enter college and earn degrees to help us get better jobs. The attitudes when asking for help, accommodations, and opportunities that other more able-bodied students get in terms of referrals to grad programs and job opportunities are tantamount to ageism and ableism combined. The professionals in power see us as risks, as the "unfit" (whenever they claim that we are "not a good fit"), as burdens to society, and almost as unworthy of any upward mobility. Some even go as far as saying we're "milking the system," when we really are struggling to get by and find purpose in our lives. It is much harder when rape culture, misogyny, ageism, ableism, nationalism, racism, and xenophobia have infiltrated all areas of life, and therefore such systemic problems affect the disabled even more. Mental disabilities, in particular, are met with even more scrutiny and disdain than those with physical disabilities.

Even disabled veterans are a protected class, but despite anti-discrimination laws, they still, too, get discriminated against.

It's really tough being disabled and judged by society.

I wished more people would investigate these things!
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Default Nov 09, 2021 at 09:58 PM
  #3
Thanks for sharing SprinkL3. Very well said. I find it interesting that mental disabilities affect every demographic in society, yet so many are consistently pushed to the side. When this many people are pushed to the side it's always going to cost more for taxpayers. Our system has been broken for a very long time, but the fact is that many jobless/homeless/degreeless/imprisoned individuals are in that situation because of a lack of resources and an intensely judgemental society.

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Default Nov 10, 2021 at 12:02 AM
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Default Nov 10, 2021 at 08:29 PM
  #5
I'm limited on hours I can work, because I can only earn so much per month to stay on disability. So I fill my open hours with various therapies, group, individual, etc. Well I'm finding companies don't want my limited availability though it's part time jobs. They want me available for full time. Often I'm asked why I'm not seeking full time. I don't want to admit disability but I may start. I've been on over 30 interviews. Still at same job. And we are in a worker shortage they say but they don't want me.

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Default Nov 12, 2021 at 03:48 PM
  #6
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I'm limited on hours I can work, because I can only earn so much per month to stay on disability. So I fill my open hours with various therapies, group, individual, etc. Well I'm finding companies don't want my limited availability though it's part time jobs. They want me available for full time. Often I'm asked why I'm not seeking full time. I don't want to admit disability but I may start. I've been on over 30 interviews. Still at same job. And we are in a worker shortage they say but they don't want me.
I forgot about this! I have similar issues when requesting part-time hours. I've even had co-workers pressure me into taking on more hours and say things like "well if you worked more hours..... we wouldn't be so busy/you would learn more etc" I've even had a co-worker tell me that they have health problems and they still work full-time because "you have to do what you have to do"

This is actually what lead me to disclose my mental health issues in the first place because I was always asked why I can't work full-time and honestly I regretted every time I disclosed that info. I was treated differently by co-workers and my bosses. So I think this is def something I'd like to include in my plans.

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Help Nov 13, 2021 at 07:36 PM
  #7
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I forgot about this! I have similar issues when requesting part-time hours. I've even had co-workers pressure me into taking on more hours and say things like "well if you worked more hours..... we wouldn't be so busy/you would learn more etc" I've even had a co-worker tell me that they have health problems and they still work full-time because "you have to do what you have to do"

This is actually what lead me to disclose my mental health issues in the first place because I was always asked why I can't work full-time and honestly I regretted every time I disclosed that info. I was treated differently by co-workers and my bosses. So I think this is def something I'd like to include in my plans.
Ditto! Whenever I disclosed my disability status (even without the specifics of my disability), I've always been met with judgment and disdain for not contributing more to society. It's as if ableism is acceptable, even though discrimination isn't. Microaggressions are as diverse as people, and so a lot of those things are allowable and lawful/legal - even in workplace settings, sadly.

And when trying to get counseled in college, they even emphasize never to mention mental illness or mental disability in your applications or elsewhere. But it's okay if it's a physical disability, for some reason. Many people in college are aiming to work full-time and jump start their careers. They don't realize that there are also disabled people, including veterans, who hope to work part-time (not necessarily for programmatic restrictions, but rather, because that's all they could physically offer). It doesn't mean they shouldn't be hired; it just means that there's now more room to hire two disabled people instead of just one full-time person for "conventional" career-based jobs. And that would help the economy. Forcing part-timers to become full-timers just because that is the status quo negates the benefits of hiring two part-timers in place of one full-timer. Not everyone's employment needs fit within an able-body's circadian rhythm of 9-5 schedules, with overtime implied.
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Default Nov 13, 2021 at 08:35 PM
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Ditto! Whenever I disclosed my disability status (even without the specifics of my disability), I've always been met with judgment and disdain for not contributing more to society. It's as if ableism is acceptable, even though discrimination isn't. Microaggressions are as diverse as people, and so a lot of those things are allowable and lawful/legal - even in workplace settings, sadly.

And when trying to get counseled in college, they even emphasize never to mention mental illness or mental disability in your applications or elsewhere. But it's okay if it's a physical disability, for some reason. Many people in college are aiming to work full-time and jump start their careers. They don't realize that there are also disabled people, including veterans, who hope to work part-time (not necessarily for programmatic restrictions, but rather, because that's all they could physically offer). It doesn't mean they shouldn't be hired; it just means that there's now more room to hire two disabled people instead of just one full-time person for "conventional" career-based jobs. And that would help the economy. Forcing part-timers to become full-timers just because that is the status quo negates the benefits of hiring two part-timers in place of one full-timer. Not everyone's employment needs fit within an able-body's circadian rhythm of 9-5 schedules, with overtime implied.
This is so true and a part of my outline has a lot to do with part-time employment. Employers always act like they can only hire X amount of full-time workers but I think this is just another excuse to exclude certain individuals from working at these places. Especially considering in the U.S. it's cheaper to employee part-time workers because you don't need to provide benefits.

It's proven that people with mental disabilities benefit tremendously from being employed and taking part in society, but it's just not possible when the expectations are not realistic for this group of people. It's really sad because I know a lot of us who are in this position are reliable and motivated workers.

And the college admission is really infuriating for me because it's still fresh. This happened to me this year. But the admission's team actually asked me to provide a letter that stated I'm disabled and I can't work. This was to help explain why my income has declined. Their loss of income form for this did not include anything related to the circumstances of someone with mental disabliites.

My therapist told me absolutely do not give them that type of letter because they can too easily discriminate against me with something like that. When I informed the college I wouldn't provide such a letter they treated me very badly and demanded I obtain a letter from my previous employer stating I quit the job on my own volition. To which my therapist also told me again, I absolutely do not have to do something like that.

I wrote to the president of this college and told them I felt the loss of income form was discriminatory and they should have a section for people with mental disabilities because the admission team kept demanding paperwork that did not pertain to my situation and they asked me to do things that violated my civil rights and it was demeaning and stressful. The president responded this week and just said sorry you feel that way and good luck.

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Default Nov 13, 2021 at 10:19 PM
  #9
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This is so true and a part of my outline has a lot to do with part-time employment. Employers always act like they can only hire X amount of full-time workers but I think this is just another excuse to exclude certain individuals from working at these places. Especially considering in the U.S. it's cheaper to employee part-time workers because you don't need to provide benefits.

It's proven that people with mental disabilities benefit tremendously from being employed and taking part in society, but it's just not possible when the expectations are not realistic for this group of people. It's really sad because I know a lot of us who are in this position are reliable and motivated workers.

And the college admission is really infuriating for me because it's still fresh. This happened to me this year. But the admission's team actually asked me to provide a letter that stated I'm disabled and I can't work. This was to help explain why my income has declined. Their loss of income form for this did not include anything related to the circumstances of someone with mental disabliites.

My therapist told me absolutely do not give them that type of letter because they can too easily discriminate against me with something like that. When I informed the college I wouldn't provide such a letter they treated me very badly and demanded I obtain a letter from my previous employer stating I quit the job on my own volition. To which my therapist also told me again, I absolutely do not have to do something like that.

I wrote to the president of this college and told them I felt the loss of income form was discriminatory and they should have a section for people with mental disabilities because the admission team kept demanding paperwork that did not pertain to my situation and they asked me to do things that violated my civil rights and it was demeaning and stressful. The president responded this week and just said sorry you feel that way and good luck.
I would contact the ADA and see if they can intervene on your behalf, and for all disabled persons at that school. That school deserves a lawsuit for that!!!

There are many "elitist" schools that are not inclusive, and they go out of their way to be the opposite - exclusive (and rather discriminatory). They negate the different types of talents people have, and the needs of disabled persons who can learn well part-time, but not full-time. They also negate the need to treat mental disabilities the same as physical disabilities, in terms of offering accommodations. It's as if they want to do everything in their power to prevent those with mental illnesses from achieving higher education and thus higher-waged jobs part-time. And even if the so-called market would not bear part-time workers for, say, so-called white-collared jobs, it doesn't mean that disabled persons should not be trained well enough in the event that they could work full-time later on OR in the event they do find an employer seeking part-time professionals. But then you'd have able-bodied people arguing that we're taking their jobs or their opportunities to work double than we can without having to (micro)manage two or more people. I can hear the disdain now, as I've heard it throughout almost every recession and other economic downturn. It's sickening, and it is discriminatory!

On the other hand, if it's a form that you fill out to indicate that you need accommodations because you are disabled, that's a different story. If it's one of those forms, someone should have explained it better and in a more inclusive, protective, and kinder way than how it was just thrown at you. I think it is important to disclose that you have a disability in order to get accommodations, but you don't need to be specific about that disability. Also, filling out a form of such nature should come with ethical practices that do not hinder your chances of advancement, internship opportunities, assistantships for part-time students, etc. Now if there are particular scholarships and assistantships that are for disabled persons, or if there are particular funding for that, it's not discriminatory; it's actually inclusive. But for such, you would need to disclose.

It gets tricky when there are other issues involved, such as more funding for non-disabled persons, and more funding for physically disabled persons than mentally disabled persons, etc.
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Default Nov 14, 2021 at 09:35 AM
  #10
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I would contact the ADA and see if they can intervene on your behalf, and for all disabled persons at that school. That school deserves a lawsuit for that!!!

There are many "elitist" schools that are not inclusive, and they go out of their way to be the opposite - exclusive (and rather discriminatory). They negate the different types of talents people have, and the needs of disabled persons who can learn well part-time, but not full-time. They also negate the need to treat mental disabilities the same as physical disabilities, in terms of offering accommodations. It's as if they want to do everything in their power to prevent those with mental illnesses from achieving higher education and thus higher-waged jobs part-time. And even if the so-called market would not bear part-time workers for, say, so-called white-collared jobs, it doesn't mean that disabled persons should not be trained well enough in the event that they could work full-time later on OR in the event they do find an employer seeking part-time professionals. But then you'd have able-bodied people arguing that we're taking their jobs or their opportunities to work double than we can without having to (micro)manage two or more people. I can hear the disdain now, as I've heard it throughout almost every recession and other economic downturn. It's sickening, and it is discriminatory!

On the other hand, if it's a form that you fill out to indicate that you need accommodations because you are disabled, that's a different story. If it's one of those forms, someone should have explained it better and in a more inclusive, protective, and kinder way than how it was just thrown at you. I think it is important to disclose that you have a disability in order to get accommodations, but you don't need to be specific about that disability. Also, filling out a form of such nature should come with ethical practices that do not hinder your chances of advancement, internship opportunities, assistantships for part-time students, etc. Now if there are particular scholarships and assistantships that are for disabled persons, or if there are particular funding for that, it's not discriminatory; it's actually inclusive. But for such, you would need to disclose.

It gets tricky when there are other issues involved, such as more funding for non-disabled persons, and more funding for physically disabled persons than mentally disabled persons, etc.
Yep, the way people with mental disabilities are treated compared to physical is mind boggling. I feel like mental health awareness month is such a joke right now because the stigma is still going very strong!

I did file a complaint with the department of education and they responded one time that they'll look at the emails I sent them. But I've never heard back.

The form was not for disability. I had moved back to my hometown in 2020 and did not work from that point forward but I did work full-time in 2019. So when I applied for financial aid in Aug 2021, they went by 2019 income and said I made too much money for the aid.

I informed them I haven't worked since Dec of 2019. So they said I had to fill out this special circumstances form explaining my loss of income. This form is for anyone who had a loss of income during the reporting periods so that you can get financial aid prior to the next fiscal year basically.

The form only had 3 options to pick from to explain why your income was reduced. I forget all of them but the one I choose was "loss of employment" because the other 2 didn't fit at all. So under loss of employment you have to supply certain documents such as proof of being laid off, proof of reduced hours, or proof of unemployment benefits.

I didn't have any of this because I quit my last job because of mental health issues. When I started to explain this, that is when they demanded I go back to the employer I quit and get a letter from them, they asked me to file for unemployment benefits even though I wouldn't qualify since I quit, they asked me for the letter stating I'm unable to work because of a disability. And they were really mean about each one they acted as if I was trying to pull one over on them and get a hand out. The woman even asked me 3 times if I thought I could handle going to school, the 3rd time she asked I told her not to ask me that again. And this was all the financial aid department.

I asked to speak with the accessibility department about the documents they were requesting and the way the financial aid office was questing my ability to go to school I felt it was discriminatory. The accessibility office never responded!!

So this is just typical of mental health though we're treated as if we're less than human a lot of times.

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Heart Nov 15, 2021 at 01:58 AM
  #11
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Yep, the way people with mental disabilities are treated compared to physical is mind boggling. I feel like mental health awareness month is such a joke right now because the stigma is still going very strong!

I did file a complaint with the department of education and they responded one time that they'll look at the emails I sent them. But I've never heard back.

The form was not for disability. I had moved back to my hometown in 2020 and did not work from that point forward but I did work full-time in 2019. So when I applied for financial aid in Aug 2021, they went by 2019 income and said I made too much money for the aid.

I informed them I haven't worked since Dec of 2019. So they said I had to fill out this special circumstances form explaining my loss of income. This form is for anyone who had a loss of income during the reporting periods so that you can get financial aid prior to the next fiscal year basically.

The form only had 3 options to pick from to explain why your income was reduced. I forget all of them but the one I choose was "loss of employment" because the other 2 didn't fit at all. So under loss of employment you have to supply certain documents such as proof of being laid off, proof of reduced hours, or proof of unemployment benefits.

I didn't have any of this because I quit my last job because of mental health issues. When I started to explain this, that is when they demanded I go back to the employer I quit and get a letter from them, they asked me to file for unemployment benefits even though I wouldn't qualify since I quit, they asked me for the letter stating I'm unable to work because of a disability. And they were really mean about each one they acted as if I was trying to pull one over on them and get a hand out. The woman even asked me 3 times if I thought I could handle going to school, the 3rd time she asked I told her not to ask me that again. And this was all the financial aid department.

I asked to speak with the accessibility department about the documents they were requesting and the way the financial aid office was questing my ability to go to school I felt it was discriminatory. The accessibility office never responded!!

So this is just typical of mental health though we're treated as if we're less than human a lot of times.
You should never have to disclose to a former employer that you quit for mental health reasons. You can quit for whatever reason you wish, without stating that. You can, however, fill out the financial aid information over again and indicate that you had extenuating circumstances with your mental health, but you were unable to receive disability payments or unemployment at that time. There should be some other form you could fill out without having to disclose anything to your former employer just for a form update or something.

People in such positions can be mean, especially when their own biases and politics disagree with some of us who need financial aid to upwardly mobilize. They do make it especially hard on the disabled, especially older disabled persons (i.e., ageism and ableism combined).

I'm so sorry you went through all of that.

You could also take a break until you are able to show something the following year, which should allow you to get financial aid one year later.
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Heart Nov 15, 2021 at 02:00 AM
  #12
@ThunderGoddess I'm so sorry you went through all of that.
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Default Nov 15, 2021 at 09:28 AM
  #13
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You should never have to disclose to a former employer that you quit for mental health reasons. You can quit for whatever reason you wish, without stating that. You can, however, fill out the financial aid information over again and indicate that you had extenuating circumstances with your mental health, but you were unable to receive disability payments or unemployment at that time. There should be some other form you could fill out without having to disclose anything to your former employer just for a form update or something.

People in such positions can be mean, especially when their own biases and politics disagree with some of us who need financial aid to upwardly mobilize. They do make it especially hard on the disabled, especially older disabled persons (i.e., ageism and ableism combined).

I'm so sorry you went through all of that.

You could also take a break until you are able to show something the following year, which should allow you to get financial aid one year later.
Because of the way I was treated, I decided I don't want to attend that school, especially the lack of response from the accessibility office. Because if I was to need to ask for accommodations, that office would be my lifeline and I don't think they would be a reliable source.

This is what made me want to start a nonprofit though. I think having a middle man to help with stuff like this would be really beneficial. It feels like there is such a lack of support in these areas from therapists. The therapist who may even be a social worker only helps you on one end of things typically. And that is your thoughts and behaviors. Then they ship you out to the world to be met with contempt and discrimination and most of the time it's too intense for emotionally sensitive people to deal with even with skills at hand.

I've only had one therapist who helped me ask for accommodations at work. She walked me through each. step it was extremely helpful. Another situation, I had a therapist tell me to explain I have a mental disability, then when I needed paperwork to back that up she told me she can't give me anything. So why have me explain that in the first place?! It felt like she made me out to look like a liar.

So I just think the whole process with jobs and colleges and disclosing this information is complicated and demeaning at times and someone who could help in the process would benefit those who are struggling with this process.

But my main goal is to link employers to this nonprofit similar to organizations that help people with developmental disabilities obtain employment. So you have job training and then support workers to help through the process and the employers are on board and aware of limitations and so from the start the worker is not singled out or forced to work under unrealistic expectations.

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Lightbulb Nov 15, 2021 at 10:49 PM
  #14
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Originally Posted by ThunderGoddess View Post
Because of the way I was treated, I decided I don't want to attend that school, especially the lack of response from the accessibility office. Because if I was to need to ask for accommodations, that office would be my lifeline and I don't think they would be a reliable source.

This is what made me want to start a nonprofit though. I think having a middle man to help with stuff like this would be really beneficial. It feels like there is such a lack of support in these areas from therapists. The therapist who may even be a social worker only helps you on one end of things typically. And that is your thoughts and behaviors. Then they ship you out to the world to be met with contempt and discrimination and most of the time it's too intense for emotionally sensitive people to deal with even with skills at hand.

I've only had one therapist who helped me ask for accommodations at work. She walked me through each. step it was extremely helpful. Another situation, I had a therapist tell me to explain I have a mental disability, then when I needed paperwork to back that up she told me she can't give me anything. So why have me explain that in the first place?! It felt like she made me out to look like a liar.

So I just think the whole process with jobs and colleges and disclosing this information is complicated and demeaning at times and someone who could help in the process would benefit those who are struggling with this process.

But my main goal is to link employers to this nonprofit similar to organizations that help people with developmental disabilities obtain employment. So you have job training and then support workers to help through the process and the employers are on board and aware of limitations and so from the start the worker is not singled out or forced to work under unrealistic expectations.
Have you ever considered getting a PhD in I/O psychology (which is business-industrial psychology)? I think that degree in conjunction with multidisciplinary frameworks (since the field itself is already interdisciplinary in nature) would help when you apply, also, community psychology paradigms (such as PAR - participatory action research). The questions and passions you exhibit here are almost in line with a combo of community psych and I/O psych. The interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary frameworks are growing more and more these days, and that might be something you could look into if you were to return to college or grad school, get some mentors to help you with your vision, and then get letters of recommendation for doctoral programs. It's just a thought. I think you'd be great for it. You definitely have the passion!
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Default Nov 16, 2021 at 09:28 AM
  #15
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Have you ever considered getting a PhD in I/O psychology (which is business-industrial psychology)? I think that degree in conjunction with multidisciplinary frameworks (since the field itself is already interdisciplinary in nature) would help when you apply, also, community psychology paradigms (such as PAR - participatory action research). The questions and passions you exhibit here are almost in line with a combo of community psych and I/O psych. The interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary frameworks are growing more and more these days, and that might be something you could look into if you were to return to college or grad school, get some mentors to help you with your vision, and then get letters of recommendation for doctoral programs. It's just a thought. I think you'd be great for it. You definitely have the passion!
I appreciate your thoughts of encouragement! This would definitely be too much for me though I have pretty severe BPD symptoms and a 9th-grade level education with a learning disability, so the amount of work it would take to get to that level would be out of my scope of abilities.

My goal was to get an associate's degree in English part-time because I'm interested in grant writing. I struggle tremendously to be around people and I haven't left my house in the last 4 months just to give you an idea of where I'm at with my mental health journey. I'm lucky to have a really caring husband who supports me but I'm looking to work in an administrative position in a nonprofit as that was the only job I've ever had that lasted longer than a couple months. I worked at a large nonprofit for 4 years on the administrative team. I learned so much there but then the leadership team changed and it clashed with my personality type so I quit and haven't had a job since.

With BPD your interest and passions are extremely inconsistent, so it's quite difficult to commit to anything because who I am today isn't exactly who I am a week from today or even tomorrow. So college in general was a very stressful decision to make and I have tried to attend college before and had to drop out due to my mental health. I also live in the middle of nowhere that was the only college around me and I am currently living below the poverty line so I have no money to put towards an education I can only accept financial aid at this time.

Nonprofit work has always stuck with me, though, and I currently volunteer remotely for 2 nonprofits. I can handle people from a distance, but I don't enjoy interacting in person. The nonprofit I'd like to start would need to consist of a team that would be taking on the bulk of the in person work such as job coaches and career counselors. I'd like work on the administrative part doing website, grant proposals, standard operating procedures etc. I do my best work when I'm in a quiet space writing! That's why I say this could just be a big dream but at least it's better than sitting around doing nothing. I like to have ongoing work even if it's "fake" work lol

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Heart Nov 17, 2021 at 02:46 AM
  #16
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I appreciate your thoughts of encouragement! This would definitely be too much for me though I have pretty severe BPD symptoms and a 9th-grade level education with a learning disability, so the amount of work it would take to get to that level would be out of my scope of abilities.

My goal was to get an associate's degree in English part-time because I'm interested in grant writing. I struggle tremendously to be around people and I haven't left my house in the last 4 months just to give you an idea of where I'm at with my mental health journey. I'm lucky to have a really caring husband who supports me but I'm looking to work in an administrative position in a nonprofit as that was the only job I've ever had that lasted longer than a couple months. I worked at a large nonprofit for 4 years on the administrative team. I learned so much there but then the leadership team changed and it clashed with my personality type so I quit and haven't had a job since.

With BPD your interest and passions are extremely inconsistent, so it's quite difficult to commit to anything because who I am today isn't exactly who I am a week from today or even tomorrow. So college in general was a very stressful decision to make and I have tried to attend college before and had to drop out due to my mental health. I also live in the middle of nowhere that was the only college around me and I am currently living below the poverty line so I have no money to put towards an education I can only accept financial aid at this time.

Nonprofit work has always stuck with me, though, and I currently volunteer remotely for 2 nonprofits. I can handle people from a distance, but I don't enjoy interacting in person. The nonprofit I'd like to start would need to consist of a team that would be taking on the bulk of the in person work such as job coaches and career counselors. I'd like work on the administrative part doing website, grant proposals, standard operating procedures etc. I do my best work when I'm in a quiet space writing! That's why I say this could just be a big dream but at least it's better than sitting around doing nothing. I like to have ongoing work even if it's "fake" work lol
I'm so sorry you struggle with BPD. ((( safe hugs )))

You could always elect to do an Associates of Arts Degree - General Studies or General Degree, so that way you can pick and choose any elective you wish, so that you can find your way and explore along the way. You don't need to make a decision on a major, but you simply need to select classes you can afford at the time.

Although most scholarships are geared toward those with full-time status and certain GPAs, you can still possibly earn a standing with some community-college-based honor societies (you need not participate in them at all, but rather, you just pay for the lifetime membership, get inducted once, and then you're done - member for life). Such accomplishments could help boost your self-esteem, self-efficacy, and self-mastery, even though you may still struggle with all those things after your accomplishments. But you will nonetheless have a better resume.

Many community colleges also offer hybrid or online-only courses.

Once you graduate, you could also see about applying for part-time undergrad degrees (Bachelor-level) or even special programs (Bachelor-to-Master-levels) as a part-time student. There are also online programs for those as well. It might be more expensive going part-time, since you will lack many scholarships, but if you can afford each class out-of-pocket, then you will be able to do so at your own pace without incurring much (if any) college debt. Some Bachelor degrees also allow you to choose a general degree, but those are harder to find.

For now, you can work on small goals to get you there.

I was chapter president and secretary of a few different honor societies, and I tried to help both part-time and full-time students achieve their goals through peer support systems. I never officially set up peer support systems, but it was just a natural-forming system that happened whenever I suggested meetings or offered email feedback to help my fellow peers. I spent a few times struggling with my own mental health issues, so I sought support from my peers and the Wellness centers and the Disability Access Center. I struggled with many emotions and flashbacks. The community college I attended was much kinder than the university I attended. It was also a very tough transition to go from community college learning levels to university learning levels. I then tried out a post-bacc volunteer research position. I did well with one mentor, but I didn't do well with another mentor. I knew that my mental illness played a role in that, too.

Anyway, you can keep moving forward, and you can always quit and try something new. That's what I'm planning, that is, if I can ever get rehabilitated again. I may have lost my dream though. I'm 47, this pandemic happened, and my health is really poor.

Don't give up on your dreams - even if they tend to change. If it helps, try making a list of all the changes you've made in your dreams and/or goals across your lifespan. You might find a common pattern there to help you decide in the future which direction to go, and what seems to be the crux behind your changing goals. Those are all things you could bring with you to a psychotherapist, a career counselor, a career coach, professional development mentors, etc. You can also ask professors in college to help mentor you as well, including, perhaps, those in the Wellness or Disability Access Center.

Oh, also, there are degree programs for nonprofits. I think nonprofit degrees are at the master's level, but you can always check out their requirements and then plan ahead with undergrad courses (that is, community college and transfer university schoolwork requisites).
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Default Nov 28, 2021 at 05:40 PM
  #17
What a great idea to start a non-profit to help people with mental health issues with career-building.

I have many of the same problems you have; of big gaps in my employment history. I have had a lot of different jobs because of depression and dealing with past abuse as a kid, not getting a fair start in life, having a spotty educational background, etc.

I also have a hard time getting recommendation letters because I work at places for a short time and have to quit after a bit because of mental health issues. I have one great reference but it is from 2016 and I don't feel like I can ask anyone for a reference lately.

I do get around some of these issues a bit by having an online freelance writing business that is sporadic.

I have had the site for a few years and have a lot of articles in my portfolio over the last few years. So I just put that down as my long-term job and fudge things a bit to make it look like I am OK. I have become a bit of a genius at getting hired for jobs and looking "normal" but then I have trouble staying with a job long-term because of low pay and boredom issues etc.

I really want to work from home and not have to deal with the anxiety of being around a lot of other people every day, so I have recently started learning web design more seriously after dabbling with it for years and thinking I wasn't smart enough to be a web developer.
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Default Dec 02, 2021 at 06:35 PM
  #18
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Originally Posted by roomwithaview View Post
What a great idea to start a non-profit to help people with mental health issues with career-building.

I have many of the same problems you have; of big gaps in my employment history. I have had a lot of different jobs because of depression and dealing with past abuse as a kid, not getting a fair start in life, having a spotty educational background, etc.

I also have a hard time getting recommendation letters because I work at places for a short time and have to quit after a bit because of mental health issues. I have one great reference but it is from 2016 and I don't feel like I can ask anyone for a reference lately.

I do get around some of these issues a bit by having an online freelance writing business that is sporadic.

I have had the site for a few years and have a lot of articles in my portfolio over the last few years. So I just put that down as my long-term job and fudge things a bit to make it look like I am OK. I have become a bit of a genius at getting hired for jobs and looking "normal" but then I have trouble staying with a job long-term because of low pay and boredom issues etc.

I really want to work from home and not have to deal with the anxiety of being around a lot of other people every day, so I have recently started learning web design more seriously after dabbling with it for years and thinking I wasn't smart enough to be a web developer.
Thank you for sharing. I think the gaps in employment and lack of recommendations is quite common among us suffering from mental health disorders. I'm great at landing jobs as well but keeping them is a huge issue. I believe it's due to lack of inclusivity. It isn't safe to bring up our struggles as the stigma is so strong, we are seen as lazy or unable to handle to job.

I hope to change that mindset with advocacy.

I'm still working on figuring out the best course of action for this nonprofit and I've been thinking a lot about an online hub that is nationwide linking employers with employees. I see so many job assistance programs all over the US but when I really dig dip there is no one to easily contact to sign up for the assistance so I feel like the programs are a lot of smoke and mirrors right now. And I don't think job training programs are enough, I believe they are part of the whole package, there needs to be job placement as the next step or it's just not complete in my opinion.

I want to create a straight forward experience for people looking for work and I want to educate employers on how they can help to retain and create a safe space for people.


Have you or anyone else reading this had experiences with job assistance programs / what was your experience like?

I've used one-stop career centers but it didn't help me retain employment or really find the best fit for me. They just provided me with training as a CNA but if anyone really sat down with me and explained the job I don't think we would of found it was a good fit for me. I feel these one stop career centers are solely focused on providing training but with very limited career options that aren't typically the best fit for people with mental health disorders.

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Default Dec 09, 2021 at 07:16 AM
  #19
Unless you force employers at tax-point to take on what essentially amounts to liability in hiring people with mental illness, it will never happen.

For instance, I moved to Austin to take a job, and that job didn't work out because the boss was a pompous "christian" jackass who couldn't see his employees' actions as inflammatory to the new hire, so I told him to stuff his job and quit. Then, I took another job, and got fired Tuesday because I japped out and was no longer comfortable working there with those machines because I cannot seem to get rid of a maddening penchant for chaos in my life. Too many variables. My car is also dying and when that goes, I'll be even further stuck. I'm about to lose this loan application to get out from under the credit card at a lower interest rate because I cannot maintain employment, and fast food will not hire me. Moreover, thanks to the idiot "doctors" of prison, my back is permanently damaged so standing for long periods is difficult.

So now, I have to find another job, and I cannot guarantee that I won't snap out again because I am a rage-filled Borderline type with obsessive compulsive personality and demons in my head that are slowly killing me.

I have lost the will to even try because I've repeated the same tired progression so many times that I'm bored with it. So other options are naturally considered, and chief among them is suicide because let's face it: no one will hire a liability if they do not have to, and I have certain minimum needs just to survive. There are no other options aside from crime, and I'm not interested in selling dope or worse.

I would be happy as a pig in **** to find a job where I do nothing but sit at a computer and enter data all day in a cubicle by myself. I do not like other people, and I have little desire to be friendly or try to moderate what I know to be the truth about any given matter just to appease the woke mob or spare someone's feelings, so I just avoid the inane watercooler conversations.

Returning to prison looks more and more attractive so I no longer have to deal with chaos that bubbles up. I put myself in a position there is no return from, and there's no meaningful way out of it. Eventually, the money will run out, and my newborn daughter is not enough to keep me calm and collected. Nothing is. A pointless existence is a form of Hell of its own. It's like groundhog's day with more variance. I have no doctors, no insurance, no ability to hold a steady job, and no desire to seek out head doctors whom I do not trust to begin with.

I cannot shake the sense of humiliation looking at my life, and as a result, I've come to hate my life actively but recognize self-sabotage when I see it. I'm merely a passenger in this at this point, and I think it's time to exit this train. Again, no one will hire what amounts to a liability, or someone whom they know is only going to last a short time. What am I supposed to do? Go into the interview and just be like, yeah, I've got a felony from 25 years ago, I'm mentally unstable, I hate customers, and I can't guarantee positivity from day to day? Pff. Ridiculous. Trying to suppress it just makes it come out in chaotic fashion, usually at the worst possible moment.

What is more, the more time that passes, the less opportunity for anything there is--it is a path of diminishing returns in all senses and from which there is no return. My resume has more gaps than Swiss cheese, and putting pearls on a pig does not change the nature of the pig.
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Heart Dec 14, 2021 at 11:19 AM
  #20
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Originally Posted by Michael2Wolves View Post
Unless you force employers at tax-point to take on what essentially amounts to liability in hiring people with mental illness, it will never happen.

For instance, I moved to Austin to take a job, and that job didn't work out because the boss was a pompous "christian" jackass who couldn't see his employees' actions as inflammatory to the new hire, so I told him to stuff his job and quit. Then, I took another job, and got fired Tuesday because I japped out and was no longer comfortable working there with those machines because I cannot seem to get rid of a maddening penchant for chaos in my life. Too many variables. My car is also dying and when that goes, I'll be even further stuck. I'm about to lose this loan application to get out from under the credit card at a lower interest rate because I cannot maintain employment, and fast food will not hire me. Moreover, thanks to the idiot "doctors" of prison, my back is permanently damaged so standing for long periods is difficult.

So now, I have to find another job, and I cannot guarantee that I won't snap out again because I am a rage-filled Borderline type with obsessive compulsive personality and demons in my head that are slowly killing me.

I have lost the will to even try because I've repeated the same tired progression so many times that I'm bored with it. So other options are naturally considered, and chief among them is suicide because let's face it: no one will hire a liability if they do not have to, and I have certain minimum needs just to survive. There are no other options aside from crime, and I'm not interested in selling dope or worse.

I would be happy as a pig in **** to find a job where I do nothing but sit at a computer and enter data all day in a cubicle by myself. I do not like other people, and I have little desire to be friendly or try to moderate what I know to be the truth about any given matter just to appease the woke mob or spare someone's feelings, so I just avoid the inane watercooler conversations.

Returning to prison looks more and more attractive so I no longer have to deal with chaos that bubbles up. I put myself in a position there is no return from, and there's no meaningful way out of it. Eventually, the money will run out, and my newborn daughter is not enough to keep me calm and collected. Nothing is. A pointless existence is a form of Hell of its own. It's like groundhog's day with more variance. I have no doctors, no insurance, no ability to hold a steady job, and no desire to seek out head doctors whom I do not trust to begin with.

I cannot shake the sense of humiliation looking at my life, and as a result, I've come to hate my life actively but recognize self-sabotage when I see it. I'm merely a passenger in this at this point, and I think it's time to exit this train. Again, no one will hire what amounts to a liability, or someone whom they know is only going to last a short time. What am I supposed to do? Go into the interview and just be like, yeah, I've got a felony from 25 years ago, I'm mentally unstable, I hate customers, and I can't guarantee positivity from day to day? Pff. Ridiculous. Trying to suppress it just makes it come out in chaotic fashion, usually at the worst possible moment.

What is more, the more time that passes, the less opportunity for anything there is--it is a path of diminishing returns in all senses and from which there is no return. My resume has more gaps than Swiss cheese, and putting pearls on a pig does not change the nature of the pig.
How about a writing career? You have excellent writing skills!

Or what about going to college to be a journalist?

Your strong personality skills could actually be a plus in certain arenas.

But if you truly are a recluse or one who cannot get along with others, then perhaps writing would be a great career.

If you cannot afford college, you can simply take free online courses and learn independently.

You can also figure out the publication business or perhaps work-from-home communications jobs that don't require a degree, if you can handle the workload and deadlines.

I'm sorry you are struggling with so much.
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