Three questions under 3 minutes.
A man sits in an office at a desk with plants behind him.
Off camera: Welcome to this episode of Three Questions under 3 Minutes with Freddy Jones Vocational Rehabilitation specialist. Hey, Freddy, what's your best advice to a new client?
Jones: To realize this is a process and that our goal is employment. And so to have that understanding a little bit coming in and then to not hesitate to apply.
We have a lot of different services and we do the eligibility process. But the big thing is you're going to work with the counselor and we want you to be an active participant. And you kind of need to know that coming in that you're you're going to be going through a process. And so this is this is something that you want to be committed to doing whenever you apply and getting started, But you can always ask questions along the way.
Off camera: What is the thing that surprises the clients the most?
Jones: The eligibility process. We work with people with disabilities to provide jobs or employment careers and so with the eligibility process, a lot of clients don't apply or a lot of clients do apply, but they assume it is like Social Security. Well, our process is different. And another thing that is a big difference is the many different services we provide.
We we can help in high schools with the school work study and with kids from 15 to 18. And we also can provide hearing aids and we also can assist with different training programs, including college. Another surprise is a lot of clients have heard about the college, but they just kind of assume that it is for more like a scholarship.
And so so the big thing is to kind of understand that we do have a big amount of services and each client is an individual. And so we provide those services to provide employment goals that they want after the cases over.
Off camera: Now, this year you were on the Oklahoma Commission for Rehabilitation Services Award. Why do you think the commission chose you?
Jones: So the reason they chose me is that there are several people who nominated me. My program manager, I have a coworker and my technician and they all nominated me. I also have mentors Chris and Brenda. And I'm sure that they may not have nominated me, but I'm sure that they put in a good word. All of the work that I've done over the last 6 to 7 years, I believe has kind of rubbed off on the team.
And then the commissioners also saw that when they were going through the nominees and they got to see some of my passion and some of my work with the clients and the work. I'm not a person who likes awards or likes to the limelight, but the big thing for me was that the things that I was doing for my clients was able to be noticed and recognized, and so we had a good time with that.
I've been here seven years and that's a lot longer than I had been at any other job. And the reason for that is because of my clients. I love what I do. I love seeing them then change and learn a lot about themselves and get jobs that they want. And also the different staff that we've had.
I mean, they kept me here this long, along with just my teachers and the people I work with. I built a real strong connection with them and like seeing people grow and myself grow.
Voice over: Three questions under Three minutes. Logo, Oklahoma Rehabilitation Services.
