Group Opens West Hills Employment Center for Disabled

A nonprofit organization is opening a West Hills center designed to help disabled individuals find employment, the group announced. The center is a partnership between the Los Angeles unit of Jewish Vocational Service and a federal grant from the California Department of Rehabilitation to assist individuals who are blind, visually impaired and who have other physical, emotional, cognitive and learning disabilities. The new center, which expands on the organization’s general employment office that already existed there, will be dedicated to offering comprehensive vocational evaluations to clients referred by the state’s rehabilitation department. The center is designed to help its clients learn about their skills, interests and capabilities and how to use those to find jobs. Certified counselors and jobs placement are also provided at the site. “This summer marks the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act,” said Eileen Slutsky, the organization’s director of disability and assessment services. “But there are still many people out there who don’t know what services are available. Or worse, they’ve been to other places who didn’t know how to help them.” Jessica Selva