How do poverty, disability, and employment overlap and intersect? How do these intersections act as barriers to populations typically underserved by Vocational Rehabilitation services?

Project E3, the Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center for Targeted Communities, focused on the intersections between poverty, disability and employment to learn how to better serve people with disabilities, facilitate active learning communities, and create resources that rehabilitation professionals and community partners can use to improve quality employment outcomes for people with disabilities living in underserved communities.

As Project E3 participants, vocational rehabilitation professionals from all levels of the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services and local community service providers worked closely together to explore how to improve outcomes for the people they served. They shared resources and developed strategies around issues related to poverty, disability, employment, and vocational rehabilitation.

In this video, project participants and partners:

• Describe key activities that improved quality employment outcomes for people with disabilities in underserved communities
• Give examples of strengthened relationships between agencies and community service providers
• Share lessons learned from participating in Project E3
• Explain how they will do things differently going forward as a result of their experience with Project E3
• Give advice to other communities interested in implementing activities and strategies learned from Project E3.

Learn more about Project E3

Project E3 provided technical assistance to state vocational rehabilitation agencies and their community partners across the United States to help people with disabilities from underserved communities achieve their independent living and employment goals. Visit the Project E3 website to learn more.