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Jack Maxwell, Indiana
2021 National APSE Board of Directors At-Large Candidate
How many years have you been involved in integrated employment/supported employment?
4 years
The area(s) that best represents your current position/experience:
Advocate, Service Provider or Manager
Describe your history/nature of involvement/interest in integrated employment/supported employment.
I started working as an employment specialist in 2017, as a new specialist my trainers and more senior staff kept telling me to read people’s files and treat them accordingly. After a few months of working directly with people, I realized their files weren’t always accurate portrayals of who they were as currently. This is when I stopped reading historical data and started getting to know the people today as we all change with time, we learn and grow. With this I got to know the people who wanted jobs today, we worked together to find what it was they needed and wanted. I worked with them to help them advocate for themselves so the decisions they were making were theirs not mine. This is how I train my staff today so they can get to know the people for who they are now, not who they were 5-10 yrs. ago. As we age, it is important for us to support everyone as they too come into different phases of life, work is only part of life, we need to be able to create a well-rounded support system to include all domains.
How will you be able to contribute to the growth and improvement of APSE as an organization?
I am working to bring self-advocacy to southwestern Indiana again, we had a chapter before and it lost interest. As we are looking to get the chapter back to active status, this will allow people to bring about change to the employment sector for themselves and other people who are disadvantaged in the workplace. As people talk about employment needs and using a person-centered approach with self-advocacy this will bring exposure to the region to show the state there are plenty of people here who want access to better job options. The people in this area are looking for jobs in technology and manufacturing, as well as other office-type jobs. We don’t have a lot of people in our region who want to work in the food and filth. As we come out of this pandemic, the work environment is changing, as we see employers paying for entry-level, we need to be more competitive. I strive to embody an “Each one, teach one” motto, which leads me to endeavor for everyone to learn a level of respect and understanding of their needs and to achieve.
Biography
Jacques dedicates many hours outside of work to making sure the people they serve have what is needed to achieve necessary goals. Jacques finds joy in seeing people of all abilities succeed as well as making sure they have a good time and benefit from a healthy and well supported foundation. Jacques would like to see employment first for all citizens, creating change in our region where people are valued for their skill, not excluded due to perceived inability.
Received E is for Everyone Community Award, serves on the Advisory Board of St Vincent DePaul Thrift Store, Evansville IN, selected to the Board of Directors for River City Pride, Volunteered for Community Activism committee.
He is a born and bred Yankee- 27 rings looking for 28…This is our year.