The Choice Group

Tranisha Mitchell started working as an Operating Room Attendant at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in August 2016.  She works in the Surgical Prep and recovery unit, in a unique position that was created exclusively for her due to her outstanding work as an intern through Project SEARCH. When she initially began Project SEARCH she had moved several times.  With every move came the difficulty of figuring out how to navigate a new local bus route.  Tranisha, an independent go-getter, wasn’t going to let navigating a bus schedule get in her way.  She adapted quickly to her new surroundings and figured out how to effectively take public transportation to the hospital. Tranisha is a top notch employee at the Hospital because she is compassionate and great with people.  She grew up helping her family members with their medical needs, so a transition to serving her community working at the Hospital felt natural.  Tranisha is not only compassionate and gr...

There is no doubt about it, the team we have at The Choice Group works hard all year round!  With over 100 counselors and supporting staff throughout Virginia, you couldn't find a more dedicated crew to finding and retaining employment for people with disabilities.  That being said, we like to recognize those who continually give their best throughout the year! Richmond Region DaVonne Garner wins Rookie of the Year! Angela Volkening (left) wins Employee of the Year for Richmond Region and Amy Wells (right) wins the Stretch Award! Hampton Roads Region In order from left to right: Amorita Clark wins the Advocate Award, Katherine Edwards is recognized with the Helping Hands Award, Ericka Neville (Manager), Rachel McGregor wins Employee of the Year for Hampton Roads, Robin Metcalf (President). Central West/Charlottesville Region In no particular order: Buddy Blatz, Carolyn Nicholson, Cherelle Grady, Heather Gilman, Kate Gaiepy, Michelle Gagnon, Romanaya...

We've all experienced holiday stress or depression at some point.  Here is a practical guide on how to manage it.  Simply making time for yourself can make a huge difference.  Happy Holidays, truly! Stress, depression and the holidays:  Tips for coping Stress and depression can ruin your holidays and hurt your health. Being realistic, planning ahead and seeking support can help ward off stress and depression. By Mayo Clinic Staff The holiday season often brings unwelcome guests — stress and depression. And it's no wonder. The holidays present a dizzying array of demands — parties, shopping, baking, cleaning and entertaining, to name just a few. But with some practical tips, you can minimize the stress that accompanies the holidays. You may even end up enjoying the holidays more than you thought you would. Tips to prevent holiday stress and depression When stress is at its peak, it's hard to stop and regroup. Try to prevent stress and de...

The Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) assesses the disability-related limitations of Virginia residents with disabilities who apply for services and assigns them to one of several categories according to the severity of their limitations.  To maintain a balance between the number of applicants for services and the number of open cases they can serve effectively, DARS closes categories and establishes waiting lists as needed.  This process is called Order of Selection.  Currently, applicants in all categories are being placed on waiting lists.  This has happened before.  As they are able, DARS Counselors offer services to applicants to reduce and eliminate the waiting lists.  Individuals currently seeking services are encouraged to apply and will be served as soon as possible.  It is important to note that DARS continues to serve thousands of open cases across the Commonwealth. The Ticket to Work program may offer an...

Rachel McGregor from The Choice Group and Rita Dee with Norfolk Project SEARCH attended the Tidewater Autism Summit in Virginia Beach last Saturday!  Their goal was to provide information on The Choice Group's supported employment  and vocational counseling services to families, individuals and other professionals in the field!

When meeting with Heather about telling his story, Nathan insisted his manager, Tracey, be in the photo with him! Nathan is a very personable and hardworking individual.  He has been working at Arby’s in Fredericksburg since March of this year, and his Choice Group Counselor, Heather, along with all of his coworkers agree that his smile and laugh are infectious.   As a Utilities Maintenance Worker, Nathan’s tasks include keeping the dining room and kitchen areas tidy.  When he first started training, Heather was there to show him how tasks were to be completed— his previous experience with cleaning and maintenance certainly helped!  This method of training, as opposed to verbal direction, helped Nathan to learn and be successful in his position.  Together, they created a checklist for him to follow when cleaning the dining area.  This always helps him to thoroughly and efficiently complete the task, something that is very important to Nathan. ...

Willow Lawn will host its Third Annual Craft Beer event on November 4th from 6-9pm: Craft Beer Harvest benefitting The Special Olympics. The event will take place in the Square at Willow Lawn and the parking lot adjacent to the stage. This event will feature 14 craft beers, food samples, live music from Richmond’s own The Jangling Reinharts, contests, kids’ games & crafts, fun giveaways, prizes and more.  Beer will be available for $6/each. Craft Beer Harvest Beer Glasses will be available for purchase for $15 and includes one drink ticket. Proceeds will benefit Special Olympics Virginia. Additional event features include a Stein Holding Contest at 8pm, a $1000 shopping spree prize drawing as well as a Kids Zone with games and crafts.  Beer List: 1. Palm King Southern Tier - Pumpking  2. Legend - Winter White  3. Ardent - Honey Ginger  4. Starr Hill - Last Leaf  5. Strangeways - Albino Monkey  6. O'Connor - El Guapo Agav...

When the nation was celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 2010, Obama made a pledge to increase the amount of people with disabilities employed by the Federal Government.  They've exceeded their goal and employees with disabilities currently make up 14.41 percent of the Federal workforce! Advocacy and implementation of inclusive hiring are among The Choice Group's highest goals, and we love to share good news when we hear it!  We've come a long way since the signing of the American's with Disabilities Act and we've come a long way since 2010!  There is still more work to do, however, but we are happy that the issue of inclusion is now on the forefront of the major issues that face the nation today, and we will continue to advocate for this cause! Feds Exceed Disability Hiring Goal Published October 28, 2016 By Michelle Diament Six years ago, President Barack Obama set an ambitious goal to ramp up hiring of people with...

The Choice Group works together with students, their families, schools, the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, and Community Service Boards to provide services to support a successful and timely transition from school to work. In this photo, Vocational Counselors with The Choice Group (from left to right: Laura, Becky, and Ian) are attending a local high school transition fair in Woodstock, VA to speak with students, parents, and teachers about our services, such as benefits counseling and job coaching with assessments and supported employment.  We enjoy sharing information with the families and recognize the importance of having access to information and resources early so students can begin preparing for bright futures!

My region-wide staff meeting was scheduled for yesterday at the Portsmouth DARS. As we continue to grow (my region is as 20+ staff members!), it is getting more challenging to find a good location and time/day for everyone to meet, especially since I have people coming from Williamsburg, Eastern Shore, and Surry. We showed up at 8:45am for the 9am meeting and learned that the Portsmouth DARS, where we were holding the meeting, had unfortunately experienced some flooding over the weekend with Hurricane Matthew and it was not safe to meet there.  I started brainstorming and thinking of other places in the community that could accommodate us so last-minute.  I called the YMCA on High Street and when I explained what happened, they immediately said we could use one of their classrooms and allowed us to use their facility free of charge! This allowed us to hold the meeting as planned and for me to disseminate important information to help my counselors do their job.  I...

Agata lost her vision a few years ago which prevented her from working. She worked hard to become allocated to this change and once she was ready, I worked with her to conduct assessments to see what types of work she would enjoy. We conducted three assessments in food production and the last one went so well, Melinda at Sugar Fix in Ashland allowed Agata to come in and work as an intern! This experience is invaluable in assisting Agata with becoming acclimated to working again. Agata’s tasks include cutting cookies, greeting customers and assisting with folding boxes. Agata has a passion for baking and cooking. She comes from a Polish family and loves making Polish food at home. Due to Agata’s loss of vision, people may think that cooking may not be possible, but with the appropriate accommodations and modifications she can! I have truly enjoyed working with Agata and Sugar Fix Bakery. It is wonderful that Ms. Melinda has given us this opportunity. With the skills that Agata is le...

The Choice Group is involved not only with clients and employers but we work side by side with our communities in order to overcome obstacles we face when seeking to further disability employment opportunities.  One of our biggest obstacles is transportation. A lot of our clients rely on public transportation or arranged transportation (CARE van), and in the Culpeper, Virginia, public transportation is less widely available than in cities. The Choice Group is working in collaboration with agencies, companies, and nonprofits that are all trying to improve transportation in the Culpeper County, Fauquier County/Warrenton, Madison County, Orange County, and Rappahannock County areas.  We are meeting monthly and working towards developing both ridership surveys and employer focused surveys and we have already shared these surveys with a variety of employers, chamber of commerce committees, and economic development offices throughout these areas. We are hoping to gather en...

After a terrible accident, David is now needing to re-learn a lot of skills.  Working with his Choice Group counselor, he found a job he enjoys doing and receives all the support he needs with on-site job training and cognitive techniques to stay organized.

Isaiah Williams was hired right out of his internship at Project SEARCH.  When first working as a Cafe Porter in Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, he learned many essential job skills like interacting with coworkers and customers and following step by step directions, which really helped him in getting comfortable in his work environment and excel at his position! After Isaiah was hired, he was asked to assist other Project SEARCH participants as a mentor.  He was the perfect candidate because he is very skilled and intuitive about what newer interns need work on and where they are succeeding.  His consistency and dependability make him an excellent natural support, teaching the valuable skills that are necessary to be a good employee.  Often times simple things like knowing when to take breaks, or not taking food from the cafeteria are skills not yet learned by young adults transitioning from high school into the workforce. Isaiah loves his job and in his sp...

On-site job training and continuing support helped Virginia gain the confidence and skills she needed to get a great job that she enjoys.

One of the objectives of the Project SEARCH program is to give individuals without previous job experience an opportunity to build their resume with meaningful real-world skills.  Bridging the gap between educational services and adult services for young adults with disabilities is where Project SEARCH and The Choice Group have formed an advantageous partnership.  Our counselor, Rachel McGregor, is a transition counselor and Project SEARCH specialist and works very closely with many Norfolk Public School graduates who wish to apply for Project SEARCH internships. When she first starts working with a client, Rachel is there from the very beginning of the internship application process.  She determines along with her client what positions may be a good fit to apply for, they work together during on-site job training and when the year-long internship is complete, Rachel helps her clients find stable employment.  Katara Rodgers, one of Rachel’s recent clients, is n...

Jasmine is just like any fun-loving young woman.  She loves shopping, sports (basketball in particular), watching movies and listening to music. When it came to real world job experience, Jasmine expected a lot from herself— she wanted to work.  When Rachel McGregor of The Choice Group started working with her, she applied for a Project SEARCH internship at Sentara General Hospital and got a position in the dish room of their cafeteria.  She loved it! She found that at work there was always a task to be done in the dish room at Sentara and it often became fast paced!  Jasmine has a bright personality, loves to tell jokes and goof off, which didn’t always go over well in the classroom, but her energy translated into an enthusiastic work ethic during her Project SEARCH internship. During her internship, she learned patience.  Being a hard worker she learned to complete tasks in their proper steps as well as patience when working with others.  She also...

I began working with Anna in the fall of 2011.  Anna had been working at another job in retail but was not getting consistent hours so DARS agreed to refer her to The Choice Group to find another job.  Anna has several younger nieces and nephews and decided that she would like to work around children.   Anna was also active in Special Olympics so it was important for her to be able to continue participating in these activities during her free time. While looking for a job, Anna and I met several times a month to talk to employers, submit applications, and attend interviews.  Anna was always on time and followed through with everything I requested of her.  Anna is also lucky to have a great support system at home and I made sure to keep Anna’s mom updated with our progress.  Likewise, Anna’s mom would also pass along any suggestions she had or information that would help Anna be successful. In March 2012, we were able to arrange an interview at One L...

Nina's bubbly personality and people skills make her perfect in the busy MCV Hospital Environment! She loves her job as an elevator operator!

One of our counselors caught this beautiful sunrise at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital on the way to begin Job Site Training with a client. Our ‪Vocational Counselors‬ interact with a variety of people, places, environments, job sites...you name it! It's one of the reasons this job is so rewarding. It's nice when they get to take a moment and enjoy a view like this!