Brandy (00:00.)
Hi, this is Brandy Schantz and you are listening to Living Chronic. Today I wanted to talk a bit about being disabled and in the workforce. Or what's very common for many disabled people, being disabled and not in the workforce. I've talked quite a bit about my journey and how difficult it was. I did not have much in the way of guidance when
I suddenly became quite ill and I couldn't get to work. I didn't know anything at all about the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act. I didn't know anything about my rights in the workplace. I did not know that there were programs that can help you to find employment. And I don't just mean find a job. I mean, find meaningful employment. The situation I was in, I had worked in intelligence my entire life.
And everything I did was top secret. I could only work in a skiff. And that really does not favor having Crohn's disease when you're very sick and you just honestly can't leave the house, which was the situation I was in. So I've learned a lot over the years. I've thought about it a lot. I've done a lot of research, had a lot of great opportunity to talk to various people who work with the disabled, are disabled, who...
helped the disabled, and most recently, I accepted a political appointment in the state of Virginia to serve on the state rehabilitation council. I'm very proud of that and thankful that I was given this opportunity. We offer many resources to disabled people in the state of Virginia that many people don't even know about. And we even have partnerships.
with Veterans Affairs, something else I was not aware of prior to taking on this position. So I think it's very important to talk about our place in the workforce, the resources that are out there that we can take advantage of.
Brandy (02:16.546)
and how employers are honestly misusing disabled. So I'll start with our employment or unemployment. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for disabled Americans is 7 .2%. For people who are not living with a disability, it's 3 .5. So we are more than twice the number of non -disabled Americans that are not.
And that's a problem. And it's not just a problem for us. It's a problem for the workforce. Because you're really losing out on a lot of great diversity of thought, diversity of ability, and diversity of actual ability. Disability is not lack of ability. And I'll say that again. Disability is not a lack of ability. I still have.
all of the same intellectual abilities I had prior to having Crohn's disease and of course my breathing issues, the lupus, all the things, all of those things, they may have taken me backwards physically, but mentally and that's really the only thing I've ever done. I don't work manual labor. So why is it so difficult to explain my disability?
What I need is an accommodation and how I'm still very relevant to the workforce. What's more is I'm more relevant today than I was 15 years ago. And that's because being disabled brings a unique quality. It brings unique perspective. It brings very unique experiences. I am very adaptable. Change is okay with me. I've had to.
pivot and change many times over the last 15 years. Many. I'm not just used to it. I'm very good at it. I can identify what needs to change, how we can change it, how to make that process smooth, how to do it in a very efficient manner, and how to make things better despite the change.
Brandy (04:36.354)
I've changed my careers. I've had to change how I focused on different things based upon what was happening in my life, my health, economically.
The pandemic, that really gave many of us, not just the disabled, maybe the disabled had a couple extra hurdles that we had to overcome, but it gave a lot of us an opportunity to be very creative, think outside the box.
That's not something that you can just easily teach somebody.
Companies, agencies, businesses all over this country, all over this world are trying to teach employees how to be better adaptable to change. Well, your disabled workers already know that. And bringing in disabled workers and allowing them to do what they do best really is a great way to foster that kind of adaptability and resilience in your business.
We also bring a lot of strengths that you may not necessarily have in many other people in the workforce. Let's think about the neurodivergent. We know that many of them, of course, everything looks different. My disease looks different from somebody else's disease. One neurodivergent person is not going to be exactly the same as another one. But we know that they bring a lot of different perspectives and views and experiences and talents, memory, their ability to answer.
Brandy (06:12.738)
Creative identify trends. These are all things that are superpowers. They're not something
So when you're talking about integrating disabled people in the workplace, and when I say disabled, you know, I think a lot of people think about the graphic. It's in the graphic, right? The wheelchair. And thank goodness we've come a long way because today in the United States, and believe me, if you've ever been to Europe, you really recognize how well we've done in the U .S. to accommodate people who can't walk.
or have difficulty walking, who need a ramp, who need an elevator. These are things that we've done extremely well. But as we know, the disabled are not just the guys in the wheelchair, and often we think about that. But the disabled are many people. I've spoken about this quite a bit on this show. 80 % of all autoimmune disease patients are women. So women...
who already have some unique challenges in the workplace are really facing a lot when it comes to this particular disease, breast cancer. Ladies, the numbers are higher than you think, and it's not just the women with a family history. Ladies who've been exposed to the burn pits, toxic exposure, many military veterans, also many people just out in the community. Think about the people of Ohio who...
Palestine, Ohio, they just had that train derailment last year. They were also exposed to toxins. So all of these things can increase your likelihood to get that breast cancer or get an autoimmune disease. So, you know, I've talked about it a lot. I did not identify as a disabled person at first. I was never going to breathe that word. I was fine. I did not even want to tell anybody about my struggles. I just wanted to kind of ignore it and keep
Brandy (08:19.426)
and pretend like everything was always going to be okay. It was interesting.
say the words I am disabled that I felt.
I wasn't expecting that. It allowed me to ask for help when I needed it. It allowed me to understand who I am as a person today. And while I am still much of that person I was prior to getting my diagnosis, I am a different person. And I've learned the hard way that it's important to embrace that and not try to...
continue being the person I was before. But all that being said, I'm not the only person who doesn't say the words, I am disabled. There are people in the workforce today, right now, who don't identify as disabled. Maybe they suffer from chronic migraines, have an autoimmune disease. Maybe they are suffering silently with some sort of a disease that requires
requires treatment, maybe they have to take some time off work, maybe you don't know, maybe they've never told anybody and they've been able to hide it. But all of these people are a member of a community, we're all members of the same community. And the workplace is really missing out on some great talent by not finding a way to embrace all of these people. You don't even have to use the word disabled. We could say,
Brandy (10:02.146)
our disabled workforce and our workforce with differing abilities or different challenges or however you want to say it. Maybe we can work on that a little bit. But people need to know that they're included in this group. And we're not just a tax break. That's the other thing I've noticed. I talked to a lot of people. And they put disabled in this box. This little box.
And so many people want to say, OK, you're disabled here. Let's get you a monthly payment and put you over here. And now you're out of the way. You're doing great. Have at it.
Brandy (10:46.882)
I just don't know how many more ways to say this is not healthy. I do not want to sit at home all day long thinking about being disabled. Nobody wants to sit at home all day long thinking about being disabled. We need to better include the disabled. We are not others. We are you. And you know what? Whether it's today, whether it's tomorrow, whether it's in the next year or two, or whether it's not until you become elderly, we're all going to be in this box eventually.
Some people get there younger, some people get there older, but we're all gonna have various things that happen in our lives that are gonna require us to be dependent to some degree, interdependent maybe we'll say, on some kind of an accommodation, some kind of a helpful hand. You know, we'll say.
So we're there. But what we need is we need the workplace to really focus in and understand that we're not a tax break. We're not people just looking for a handout. We're not, hey, well, we've got to hire somebody who's disabled. Let's plug in a number in our DEI program, and let's hire somebody disabled, and we'll just stick them way down here. That's just not the answer. Number one, and I've said this over and over again, and I'm amazed at the number of people.
Even people in HR who have said to me, well, you know, well, hire somebody disabled. That way you get somebody cheaper. No, no, no, no, we're not cheaper. You can't just pay people less because they're disabled. Furthermore, we're not charity. We're amazing people. I have the ability to do all the things I used to. I just need to be maybe working from home from time to time. I've worked while sick.
I've worked in hospitals. I've worked out of my car. I've worked everywhere. You know, I can make it work. And so many people are just like me. So think of us as an asset.
Brandy (12:55.508)
Embrace all abilities. Embrace the disabled. Embrace the people who have different, whatever it is, the chronic migraines, the neurodivergent, the person with Crohn's disease, the person who is dealing with lupus. You know, we bring a great skill set to the workforce and...
I think what people aren't seeing what companies, agencies, businesses are not really utilizing, what they're not capitalizing on are these unique experiences of the disabled. Because we do have strengths and superpowers that you need, that you want, and that will make your workforce a better place. I was in the army. We know that.
You know, if you go to one of the service academies, every single student is required to play a sport. I did ROTC. I didn't go to a service academy. But had I gone to a service academy, every single student is required to play a sport. Why is that? It's because playing a sport, it teaches you teamwork. It teaches you leadership skills. It hones them. It makes you better at it.
Playing a sport, a team sport especially, is a great way to become a great leader in the business world.
Brandy (14:29.378)
And think about it this way. I live in the United States. Most of my listeners are in the United States. So I'll use football as an example. Let's say you have a really great athlete coming out of college, going into the NFL. This athlete is fast, one of the fastest people you've ever seen on the field. This athlete has great agility, speed.
can catch a ball with one hand, eyes look in the other direction. Talent. Everybody's excited about this athlete. This super fast, great runner, great ball handler, all the things. I play soccer, I'm a little bit more of a foot person, but it's okay. I still know football, I swear.
But let's say the coach takes that talent with the great running skills, the great agility, and puts him in the position of center. And he fails. Doesn't do well as a center.
Will the fans blame the athlete and say, hey, he had all this promise and he failed? Or will they blame the coach and the coaching staff because they took a great running back and made him a center? I think we all know that that coach is getting fired, right?
That coach is getting fired. He took a great athlete that would have made a great running back, a great tight end, and he made him a center. Now he's, you know, beat up. Didn't do anything he was supposed to do. What's interesting to me is in the workforce, a manager takes a really great analyst, somebody who would be the, you know, just great analytical faker, great writer, great abilities to f***.
Brandy (16:30.074)
Do trend analysis, find patterns, just excellent. And that manager takes that analyst and makes that analyst, let's say, an HR person or puts them in sales. And they fail. This person's a great analyst, not a salesperson. They're not HR. They're not great at.
doing whatever they've just tasked this person with doing. Now in the business world, who gets fired? Is it the outstanding analyst or is it the manager who took an outstanding analyst and made him a salesperson? It's always the outstanding analyst.
And I think that's a lot of what's lacking in companies today, agencies today. It's that leadership. It's not just about managing a team. It's not just about managing a division. It's not just about managing an agency or a company. It's about being a leader. It's about making things better. It's about bringing the whole together. Everybody who's doing their unique task, their unique mission and bringing it together as one.
It's about identifying an amazing analyst and making that person an analyst. It's like seeing the potential of somebody who has great interpersonal skills and empathy and understanding and making that person a great salesperson. This is what's lacking. The disabled are not folks to just sit away into a corner. They're not just your tax break. They're not somebody that just needs a monthly
paycheck and just you know put them in the corner if we did our duty they're disabled moving on.
Brandy (18:24.29)
We're a great opportunity to integrate into the company, to make the company better. The empathy and understanding of the majority of disabled people I know, who have great interpersonal skills, I feel what you're going through. Why? I've been through it or something like it. I know how important empathy is. I know how important it is to listen and to understand and to not judge.
Brandy (18:56.322)
I'm sure I thought that I had many of those skills before now, but they're so heightened. I'm so good at this. And so are so many others. And that's what I want to see more of in the workforce. Don't just use this as a tax break, utilize us, identify our strengths, understand that we come with superpowers and use us effectively.
Gotta embrace all abilities. Disability is not a lack of ability. We do have superpowers sometimes. We do.
Brandy (19:40.002)
So focusing in on how to better utilize this, that's the way forward. That's how you make your workforce a better place.
And this is something I think everybody can get on board with. I've had a lot of people ask me, oh.
You have a political appointment in the state of Virginia? Is that Governor Glenn Youngkin? Is he a Republican? Do you, do you agree with him? What's that about? How do you, how do you go about that? Well, first of all, to Governor Youngkin and staff, no, I'm not going to say anything negative. I promise. I'm very grateful to have this appointment. It means a lot to me to be able to help disabled people in the state of Virginia.
It really does. But furthermore, I think this is a very bipartisan effort.
And things get politicized all the time. You know, this is DEI, it's bad, or this is, you know, we don't want to do this, or, you know, I've heard, you know, some people think that, you know, people are just trying to scam into disability pay. I just don't even know how. I mean, it takes a law degree to get through half of that paperwork and you still fail. It's not easy. And again, nobody wants to sit at home and think about how disabled they are all day long.
Brandy (21:09.506)
So getting people involved in the workforce, helping the disabled, giving them an opportunity to shine and show their superpowers. These are all very bipartisan things. I don't look at them as political at all. And I think if we could speak out, speak out loud, stand up and say, hey, you know, this diversity of disabled people, this isn't a charity.
This isn't a tax break. This is finding the best possible way to integrate us into your business so that you can thrive, so that we can thrive, so that the country can thrive, the economy can thrive. We're really missing on a lot of great assets by just othering the disabled, putting them over here, by not expanding what we think of disabled.
Just because somebody doesn't identify as disabled doesn't mean they're not necessarily disabled. Open our minds. Embrace all abilities. Let people know, hey, you're just as worthy as you were before. Or you can admit that you have these problems. They're not something to hold you back. They're something that makes you better. And that's the message I really want to get out there. It's really important. Last week, my episode.
was the interview with June Heston, widow of Brigadier General Michael Heston.
It, that interview meant a lot to me. It was so meaningful, so emotional, so informative. I could feel everything that June went through. And then when she spoke about him being marginalized and pushed to the side after becoming ill and that being what really
Brandy (23:12.636)
took him to turn towards the worst. I felt that. I really felt that.
Because I've often been in the same situation. I've had friends of mine say, oh, well, why don't you just retire? You can be one of those women who lunch. I don't want a woman who lunch. I want to continue doing the things I love. I want to continue with a career. Just because I'm sick doesn't mean that you have to stick me in a corner. It hurts. It's painful.
It makes you feel not just unwanted, but unneeded. And that's the worst feeling. That's when things become worse. That's when things...
Brandy (24:00.714)
really take their toll.
Your mental health has a direct effect on your physical health.
in June.
going downhill when he felt marginalized.
I know that feeling. I know that feeling. And we're so much more than just disabled people. We're so much more than just sick people. We're so much more than just disabled veterans. We're a great asset.
Brandy (24:42.146)
So I want everybody to really think about how can I better integrate disabled into my company, agency, business, division, department, whatever it is. How can I better identify these strengths, these superpowers that can make the workforce that much better? How can I take this person with this amazing super ability to be analytical and
creative and identify trends.
and utilize that to make the business just that much better.
Brandy (25:22.754)
because we don't want to be marginalized and you want a better workforce. I know you do. I know that people want the economy to be active and booming. Get these people into the workforce. Get these people into the economy contributing.
Don't think of us as others. Don't think of us as these folks that we just need to sit down, go to the query code, don't do anything anymore. No. I'm out. Let me thrive. Let me be me. Let me do my best. Because me doing my best is your business also doing better. Me being my best is also you making more money, maybe seeing a new program implemented.
Brandy (26:12.034)
These are very important points, not just to your business, but to the people who are affected, to their families, to their well -being. Justice for General Heston. Justice for General Heston. Let's all do our best to not marginalize the person who's now disabled or sick. Don't do it.
Embrace them. Understand that the...
people who can make you.
Brandy (26:54.338)
have to embrace all abilities and disability is
Brandy (27:05.538)
this makes at least one person think a little bit about how they view disabled people, people dealing with illnesses, people dealing with different abilities, because it really can make a difference in that person's life, in your life, in your business, in your...
overall.
meaning of what you're doing. The meaning.
Brandy (27:41.442)
I know we can do better.
So thank you again for listening to Living Chronic. I'm Brandy Shantz. And see you next week.