The Disability Outreach Offering Resources through Service (DOORS) initiative is engaging adults with disabilities, with a focus on veterans, in service opportunities that will build the economic empowerment of individuals, families, and communities. This is a program of the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network, in partnership with AARP Tax-Aide, the Internal Revenue Service, the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, the National Disability Institute, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S.

The DOORS initiative is creating model programs in 20 communities. These areas are engaging people with disabilities locally, training nonprofits to work with volunteers with disabilities, and addressing the economic challenges faced by this group as well as individuals and families in low-income areas. The initiative is also developing materials and resources including a training module, an effective practices publication, and a collection of case studies. These materials and resources will be available at the end of three years to Volunteer Centers, disability organizations, and economic empowerment programs as tools to help address the need in their communities.

Why is this program important?

People with disabilities are less likely to be engaged in their communities than their non-disabled peers, which has been linked to lower levels of life satisfaction. A National Organization on Disability survey conducted in 2000 reported that 60 percent of adults with severe disabilities and 71 percent of people with less severe disabilities are involved in their communities, compared to 79 percent of people without disabilities. One of the factors that the National Organization on Disability attributed to the differences in community participation was “the lack of encouragement from community organizations.”

People with disabilities are also more likely to be unemployed and living in poverty than their non-disabled counterparts. Sixty-three percent of people with disabilities are unemployed compared to six percent of Americans without disabilities and working people with disabilities are three times as likely to be living in poverty compared to people working without a disability. Disabled veterans are uniquely challenged as well, which is illustrated by an unemployment rate of double their peers.

What’s happening in the model programs?

This program will involve 10 communities in the first two years and an additional 10 will be added in the third year. The cities currently involved in the DOORS initiative include:

• Chicago, Ill. (Community Resource Network)
• Citrus County, Fla. (Nature Coast Volunteer Center)
• Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (Volunteer Center of North Texas)
• Detroit, Mich. (The George W. Romney Volunteer Center)
• Eureka, Calif. (Volunteer Center of the Redwoods)
• Flint, Mich. (Resource Center)
• Milwaukee, Wis. (Volunteer Center of Greater Milwaukee)
• Phoenix, Ariz. (Volunteer Center of Maricopa County)
• Rhode Island (Volunteer Center of Rhode Island)
• San Diego, Calif. (Volunteer San Diego)

Some examples of service opportunities that the model programs will use to engage people with disabilities include:

• Tax preparation assistance to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and/or other credits and deductions
• Working with career centers to identify job listings, perform resume development, and/or provide career counseling
• Peer mentoring to become a successful job seeker
• Financial education on budgeting, savings, and/or understanding credit
• Homeownership counseling to explore matched savings or other financial options to become a first-time homebuyer