Agency sees potential, not disabilities, EEOC says

Anne Marble, who had a 20-year career in human resources, was afraid she would never find work after side effects from type 2 diabetes left her legally blind.

After being laid off in 1999, she tried consulting but found it increasingly hard to do computer work and paperwork as her eyesight degenerated to less than 40 percent of normal.

Then she found Linking Employment, Abilities and Potential, known as LEAP, where she was hired as a benefits specialist in 2001.

"When I came here I thought: OK, I'm accepted for who I am and what I can do. It's a comforting feeling," said Marble, who turns 59 on Monday.

Now she has the magnifier and large-font computer interface she needs to get her work done, and she's surrounded by a helpful staff, Marble said. She is also able to carpool with co-workers from her home in Mentor to LEAP's office in Cleveland.

LEAP serves 15 counties in Northeast Ohio and provides information, education, training, employment and independent living services to disabled people.

The organization was among seven employers across the nation recognized by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for providing unfettered access to job opportunities.

McDonald's and the U.S. Department of Defense also received the Freedom to Compete Award. LEAP "is an organization that practices what it preaches," said Cynthia Stankiewicz, a program analyst in the EOCC's Cleveland field office.

"Not only do we help provide employment and other services to people with disabilities, we also hire folks with disabilities, and that's something we pride ourselves in," Marble said.

Most of the organization's 50 employees and its governing board are disabled, said LEAP spokeswoman Maria Wolf.

Dealing with limitations can be emotionally taxing on those who want jobs but can't find work, Marble said.

"I remember just crying and having an absence of feeling," she said, reflecting on her time out of work. "There's a self-worth feeling that everyone wants and needs to have."

And with today's technology, accessibility is even more possible, Marble said.

"There are people who have disabilities who can run circles around people in workplaces who do not," she said.

Marble said her job is more fulfilling than any other she has had.

"Just when you think you couldn't have a worse day," she said, "you actually help someone get to a place where they couldn't have been before."

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