Latonja’s Story

When Latonja came to CIL in 2015, she had one simple goal: to find a job. Something that sounds so simple to other people was an uphill challenge for her. Why? Because Latonja is Deaf. Just like many of the people that CIL helps in the Aspire to Hire program, her disability made it extremely difficult to not just find employment, but employers that treated her with the respect and dignity that she deserves. Individuals who are Deaf, like Latonja, face unique hurdles in the employment process-from the application, to transportation, to actual employment. While in the program, her case manager was there to help with every part of the process, which included job readiness training and pre-employment skills training. During this process, it just so happened that CIL was in need of a janitorial staff member to join their team, and actually hired Latonja to fill the role, where she is still gainfully employee.