Employment for adults with disabilities is at an all-time high in the United States, reaching 21.3% in 2022, a 2.2% increase from the previous year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Despite the increase, the BLS reports that there is still a vast disparity between those with and those without disabilities in the labor force. The unemployment rate for people with disabilities is nearly double that of those without.
In Minnesota, the unemployment rate among individuals with disabilities is 9.8%, nearly triple that of those without disabilities, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
One organization is helping to combat unemployment for people with disabilities in the Twin Cities. St. Paul-based MSS provides employment opportunities in the Twin Cities community for those with disabilities.
MSS’s mission is to “support people with disabilities as vital and contributing members of our community,” as stated on its website. One of the main services it offers the community is helping to secure employment for those with disabilities.
“Individuals have the opportunity to experience work as they progress toward their individual career goals,” Randy Bloom, a spokesperson for MSS, wrote in an email to TommieMedia.
The University of St. Thomas has partnered with MSS since 2016 to create jobs for adults with disabilities in the campus dining halls.
The partnership actively provides 14 positions for MSS crew members at the Northsider and the View, the university’s two dining halls on the St. Paul campus.
According to MSS, the partnership with St. Thomas creates over 5,800 hours of paid work for their crews. The work crews maintain sanitization in the dining halls and the dish rooms.
The MSS work crews interact with St. Thomas students on a daily basis, forming relationships in the St. Thomas community.
“I have friends here who are students and friends here who are staff, and I really like it,” Alex Junge, a member of the MSS work crew, said.
Junge said he receives a lot of meaning from his job at the Northsider and takes pride in his work and being able to help his co-workers.
“My work means completeness, it means a meaningful activity to do, it means a lot to support,” Junge said.
The MSS crews do valuable work for dining services, and it doesn’t go unnoticed. Steve Griffin, director of campus stores, says kitchen staff are glad to receive help from MSS workers.
“I think they do a great job. They do a lot of tasks we need to be done,” Griffin said.
Griffin recognizes the positive addition to St. Thomas’ diverse workplace that the MSS work crews add. He says they have a positive impact on the students and campus life.
“Everybody can do something on campus … it allows students to see this group come in and really add a lot to the life of campus,” Griffin said.
Adam Mueller can be reached at muel7541@stthomas.edu.