Client Story: Rebecca

Rebecca, 55, isn't letting arthritis prevent her from working. Read how an Easter Seals computer-training course helped her prepare to reenter the workforce.

“I appreciate what everybody at Easter Seals has done for me.”

When Dorchester resident Rebecca Wiggins encounters a computer problem she can’t solve, she knows who she can call. Easter Seals technical specialist Eric Oddleifson has given her his work, cell phone and home phone members.

Rebecca, 55, completed a computer training course at the Easter Seals Technology and Training Center in Boston and is using the center’s facilities to look for a job as an administrative assistant. The course gave her a working knowledge of some of the software she would need on the job.

“Rebecca is very motivated and very determined,” said Kevin Quinn, an Easter Seals job training and employment instructor who has been working with her. “She always wants to learn new things, and she never lets anything stand in her way.”

The soft-spoken Rebecca, who has 7 children and 21 grandchildren, has been out of the job market for more than 35 years. During that time, she developed arthritis and now walks with difficulty, using a cane.

Her ties to Easter Seals began when she was bedridden several years ago. At the time, the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission provided her with a laptop computer and called in Easter Seals to train her to use it.  The software she learned to use at the Technology and Training Center also has been put onto her laptop at home.

Rebecca has enjoyed her time at the center. She loved her computer classes and still stays in touch with her former classmates.  “I will hate it when it’s time to leave,” she said.

“I wish I had known about Easter Seals a long time ago,” Rebecca added. “If I had, I would have gotten out and around more and my arthritis wouldn’t have been so bad. I appreciate what everybody at Easter Seals has done for me.”