Vocational Rehab Gives Hope
The following story appeared in The Columbia Star newspaper on April 8, 2005. It is reprinted with permission.
by Ceille Baird Welch
Tiffany Hasty is a young woman now. An impeccably groomed and stylish young woman. A working woman with her own bank account and her own apartment.
“She’s extremely proud of those things,” said Tiffany’s mother, Katherine Dow. “And I’m extremely proud of her.”
The day little Tiffany Hasty was born, her doctors predicted quite a different forecast.
“My baby wasn’t expected to live through the night,” said Dow, her voice still quivering with the memory. “She came three months early and weighed only two pounds and 1.3 ounces. After she made it through the first night, other complications kept coming, one after the other.”
There was fluid on the baby’s brain, and the fluid led to seizures. A shunt was inserted to drain the fluid, but Tiffany’s development would be severely challenged, and she was partially blind.
According to her doctors, she would forever be totally dependent on nursing care. As a feasible solution, the best for all concerned, institutional placement was suggested.
Katherine Dow would not hear of it. “Oh no!” she said. “Not my baby!”
Tiffany Hasty did not walk until she was three years old. Sometimes she displayed a temper. Always, she was easily frustrated. But there were other times; times when Tiffany was willing to please and was industrious. She also appreciated monetary reward.
Katherine Dow decided to accentuate the positive. She saw to it her little daughter went to school where Tiffany was placed in special ed classes.
“I wouldn’t have known a thing about Vocational Rehabilitation had the school counselor not told me,” said Dow.
The SC Vocational Rehabilitation Department became the ray of sunshine that Katherine Dow always know was out there — somewhere.
“I wanted more than anything for my daughter to be independent,” she said, “and this gave me renewed hope.”
A Columbia area rehab team, headed up by VR counselor Gardenia Coleman, and flanked by VR staff members Phillip McNeil, Bernard Grant, and Gwen Austin, set out on an unrelenting mission: to make Tiffany Hasty a successful member of America’s work force.
Hasty received counseling and guidance, job readiness training, and career planning. At SCVRD’s Richland Work Training Center she learned work skills and coping mechanisms. She gained self confidence. And after months and months of hard work, Tiffany Hasty, in high spirits and with increased motivation, was ready to find a job.
Job coach Phil McNeil recalled, “We went through several job tryouts, but all ended in frustration. Sometimes Tiffany Became angry. Sometimes she felt like giving up.”
At last McNeil went to Sodexho, the food service provider for USC. Sodexho, with a reputation for excellence and patience and with a long history of hiring people with disabilities, became the perfect match for Tiffany Hasty. She received praise and her first paycheck and began to excel in dining area tasks.
“We all refused to let her give up,” said Katherine Dow, “and she didn’t give up. Just look at her now!”