More than 100 DeKalb residents attended WorkSource DeKalb’s second annual Disability Awareness Forum on Oct. 25. The two-part event featured a panel of experts to help workers with disabilities find employment and a job fair.

Panelists included Marcia C. Blanding, vocational rehabilitation specialist at the US Department of Veterans Affairs and former regional director and former veterans services coordinator at Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency; Fran Durbin, employment and training program manager at disABILITY LINK; and Quasandria Turner, metro regional manager-Decatur workforce development at Goodwill Industries. The panelists shared a wealth of knowledge about many little-known resources available to persons with disabilities such as services for food, clothing, job search assistance and moral support in living independently.

Attendees also heard from Sherita Walls, who attended the event last year and used the resources available to overcome barriers to employment. She is now employed by DeKalb County Code Enforcement.

The second half of the event featured a job fair with employers and resource providers that hire and serve persons with disabilities. Employers were seeking to fill positions for call center representatives, customer service representatives, retail sales representatives, rehabilitation counselors, program assistants and marketing consultants.  Employers and resources included Verizon Wireless, Ricoh, Computer Generated Solutions Inc., Goodwill Industries, Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency, Georgia Department of Labor, Just Us Staffing, Georgia Tech College of Design, Georgia Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and the DeKalb Community Service Board.