August 21, 2011 by Broke_Intern.

by Linda McIntosh

On Thursday, August 25, the Mobile Chamber of Commerce is hosting the Mobile Business Expo where members can publicize their organizations. This free-to-the-public event will take place from 1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. in the Mobile Convention Center Exhibit Hall. More than two hundred exhibitor booths will be set up, and BrokeButNotForLong will be among them in booth #128. In addition, we are very excited that Still Serving Veterans will be joining us.

Per their website, Still Serving Veterans was created in 2005 to help veterans, including wounded warriors, adjust to civilian life after serving their country. Many veterans return home from combat with severe disabilities and/or post-traumatic stress disorder. These veterans and their families may benefit from emotional and vocational counseling, but sometimes finding aid is difficult. Still Serving Veterans, based in Huntsville, Alabama, has stepped up to provide this assistance. Compassionate case workers assist Still Serving Veterans in accomplishing its mission: “To empower Veterans including wounded warriors, and their families, by helping them reintegrate into the workforce and community via counseling, coaching, guiding, job transition, and assistance in obtaining all Veterans Administration (VA) benefits to which they are entitled.” Still Serving Veterans knows what services are available and can show veterans how to apply for them.

BrokeButNotForLong is collaborating with Still Serving Veterans to encourage companies to hire veterans as well as to provide career coaching. Our  mutual goals for this event include:

* Advocate hiring veterans and persons with disabilities
* Inform businesses of tax incentives for hiring
* Educate businesses of the resources of SSV

Please join us at the Mobile Business Expo in booth #128. Remember, admission is free. Also, if you’d like to make a donation to help us assist veterans in their career search, please use the following link to donate at Razoo.com: Online fundraising for BROKEBUTNOTFORLONG INC.

Posted in Hiring Incentives, Disabilities, Veterans, Philanthropy | Print | 3 Comments »

August 9, 2011 by Sandra Rogers.

Presidential Update for Companies Hiring Veterans: Obama’s proposed new “Returning Heroes Tax Credit” gives $2,400 to companies for each veteran they hire who has been unemployed for less than six months and $4,800 for those unemployed for half a year or more, administration officials said. And the existing “Wounded Warriors Tax Credit” — paid out for hiring wounded veterans — would be doubled to $9,600 for taking on someone unemployed for six months or longer.

Disabled Access Tax Incentives:  Small businesses are eligible for two tax incentives to help cover the cost of providing reasonable accommodations for employees or customers with disabilities, such as sign language interpreters, readers, materials in alternative format (Braille or large print), the purchase of adaptive equipment, the modification of existing equipment, or the removal of architectural barriers.  For more information about properly claiming this and other tax credits, refer to IRS Publication 334, Tax Guide For Small Business and Form 8826, Disabled Access Credit.

Work Opportunity Tax Credit Program (WOTC): This program encourages employers to hire targeted groups of job seekers by offering them a federal income tax credit. Targeted groups include: veterans, summer youth, Title IV-A recipients, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), ex felons, SSI recipients, SNAP recipients (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), and Long-term Family Assistance recipients.  The WOTC can reduce an employer’s federal tax liability by up to $2,400 per new hire: http://www.doleta.gov/business/Incentives/opptax/.

The VA Training Program allows eligible disabled veterans to receive training or work experience at the VA.  Please visit the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Web site for more information:   http://www.opm.gov/veterans.

Resources for Employment & Disability Information Network (READi-Net) helps employers with the following employment needs regarding persons with disabilities: recruiting services, financial incentives, disability management, employer training, ADA resources, electronic recruiting, and technical assistance.  Therefore, contact your local Alabama Department of Rehabilitative Services (ADRS) representative at 205-290-4457 or www.rehab.alabama.gov/employers.  READi-Net is affiliated with the National Employment Team (NET). Contact them to find out the name of your state disability office.

Troops to Teachers: Our new http://www.jobs2teach.doded.mil Schools can register to gain access to the Troops to Teachers database to search for recruiting new teachers and learn about the tax incentives for hiring veterans.

Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act: Did you get your tax credit if you hired an unemployed worker last year?  Employers who hired unemployed workers from February 3, 2010 to January 1, 2011 qualified for a 6.2 % payroll tax incentive, in effect exempting therm from their share of Social Security taxes on wages paid to those workers after March 18, 2010.  The employer and employee’s shares of Medicare taxes would also still apply to those wages.  In addition, for each worker retained for at least a year, businesses may claim an additional general business tax credit, up to $1000 per worker, when they file their 2011 income tax returns.

Federal Bonding Program:  This program provides fidelity bonding insurance coverage to individuals with criminal histories and other high-risk job applicants who are qualified, but fail to get jobs because regular commercial bonding is denied due to their backgrounds.  The US Department of Labor (DOL) created this program to guarantee the job honesty of at-risk job seekers.  Federal financing of Fidelity Bond insurance, issued free-of-charge to employers, enables the delivery of bonding services as a unique job placement tool. Contact your State Employment Service for the for issuance of a federal bond from the DOL.

*****Sierra Group Foundation Project shows specific tax incentives per state: http://employmentincentives.com/state_incentives/state_incentives_intro.htm#fl

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Posted in Hiring Incentives, Exoffenders, Disabilities, Veterans, Workforce Development | Print | 4 Comments »

January 13, 2011 by Sandra Rogers.

[Another version of this story is in the How to Write Persuasively Today by Carolyn Davis, published by ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Press in 2010]

Strathmore House was an unregistered  Children’s Home in Spanish Town, Jamaica that was under the auspices of the Peace Corps in Jamaica.  Neglect, filth, and the accompanying parasites were pervasive for the residents.  There were about five times the number of children and young adults in the house could be accommodated comfortably.

As Peace Corps Volunteers in Jamaica from 1997-1999, a group of us tried to help the assigned Volunteer and the residents once a month or so by cleaning the house, helping the residents to bathe, and giving some lessons in care-giving to the staff.  The Volunteer who was assigned there introduced changes in hygiene and attempted to introduce attitudinal changes towards people with disabilities.

A young woman who had lived at Strathmore for quite a while talked to me about her condition.  Her body was emaciated and paralyzed; her intellect was clear as she relayed her story.

In 2006, Strathmore was no longer a Peace Corps site.  Few Americans or people of the European Union will ever live in such a home, since laws, policies, and funding reflect priorities that prohibit that degree of neglect.  In other parts of the world, however, not only does it exist, but it is condoned as care-taking.

Carolyn Davis, 

Guest Blogger

Posted in Disabilities, Volunteer!, Behavior Change | Print | No Comments »