WOMAN BACK AT WORK AS VOLUNTEER

Joan Houston loves her job as a part-time receptionist for the SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence Inc.

Although she's a volunteer she said, "I'd work more days if they'd let me."

Houston of Cape Girardeau said she wouldn't mind having a paying job, but she hasn't worked for 25 years.

Houston, who formerly worked as an insurance agent and realtor in Illinois and who had worked in a hospital, had suffered a stroke in 1980.

She' s been out of the work force since.

In October, Houston became one of five volunteers at the agency that helps make living conditions adaptable to handicapped people.

Houston was looking for something to do when she became a volunteer.

"I'm capable of doing something for somebody else," she said.

Houston is a double amputee and is often limited in what she can do.

"These are the facts of life," she said. "I can't do a lot because of my condition, but I feel good all the time."

Volunteers are not only a benefit to the community but they also benefit personally.

Ellie Knight, director of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program for Cape and Scott counties, said volunteering helps everybody.

"It stretches the community to provide more services at no extra cost," she said.

RSVP provides about 400 volunteer jobs for people 55 or older.

The jobs help people stay healthy and productive, Knight said.

"It's like having a paid staff person, but the volunteer is not as locked in as if they were drawing a salary," Knight said.

Volunteer programs like RSVP make the public more aware senior citizens are still involved in the community.

"The seniors aren't just sitting there," Knight said.

SEMO Alliance Executive Director Miki Gudermuth said it's the small things that make a difference for the handicapped in whether they stay home or go out.

"We don't hand-hold," she said. "We help prepare them to live in their own environment."

Another agency that helps the disabled seeking a job is VIP Industries.

VIP Director Hilary Schmittzehe said his agency operates on "a percolation theory" just like any other job.

The goal for VIP employees is normalization.

"When they have the skills, then they go into the job market," Schmittzehe said.

VIP Industries provides job training and work experience to its 333 handicapped employees. About 90 percent of the employees have mental handicaps, not physical ones.

Many employees may never leave the program because their disabilities are so severe they won't be able to compete, Schmittzehe said.

"When we feel they have the skills, we encourage them to go and we always tell them they can come back," he said.