Success Story – Sam Montano
Latino Connection is proud of Sam Montano. Despite profound challenges and barriers to employment, Sam is now on the path to success and self-sufficiency.
Sam came to Easterseals last year for help finding employment, but in reality, needing much more than just that. Among his challenges to employment are depression, severe anxiety, and an emotionally unsupportive family situation. He is 26 years old and has a very limited work history. A DHS counselor felt that his challenges were too great for sustained employment success.
While Sam does have some significant issues, we felt that we should at least try to work with him and see if we could, as a team, help him chart a positive course in life. Also encouraging is the fact that Sam is keenly aware of his disability and the limitations that result from it. This self-awareness and his drive to succeed gave us hope that we could make a difference. We enrolled Sam in Latino Connection, an employment program for Latinos with disabilities.
In the beginning the entire office spent time with Sam whenever possible, providing support and encouragement, in an effort to help him realize that he has value as a person. It seems simple, but helping Sam accept himself and really understand that he has something to contribute took a lot of time and patience from everyone.
Sam was able to get a job with UPS as a driver’s helper, but on his second day he suffered a panic attack and was unable to continue with the job. It seemed hopeless; Sam was extremely hard on himself, feeling he had let everyone down, especially us in the office. However, it was at this point that Sam started to get more serious about what he needed to do to improve his life.
The first step was for him to consistently take medication, which he did (and still does). Then, it took several months of not only looking for a job that we felt would work for him, but also helping him be more comfortable around new people in general. This included activities like taking him to job fairs, having him volunteer in English class, and having him participate in mock interviews. We introduced him to new situations gradually, going at his pace.
After all this hard work – success! Sam secured a job that he had chosen and that fits his schedule and location requests almost perfectly. He is working at Nordstrom Rack; they have been very good at making him feel comfortable by providing the accommodations he needs. While there is still work to do for Sam, we are optimistic that he is on his way to being self-sufficient. The future is looking good for Sam!
