Beacon Group helps improve employment skills of individuals

With a bright smile, Rebecca “Addie” Shepherd has come a long way in the past year, a time of great economic uncertainty when people with disabilities are facing higher rates of unemployment.

Prior to her time at Beacon Group, Addie experienced significant difficulty finding a job due to her work history. She admits her biggest problem was work attendance stemming from mental health disabilities, including major depressive disorder. “I was struggling with circumstantial things and could barely make it out of bed and the thought of work made me so anxious,” she says.

In combination with accessing greater mental health resources, Addie credits the Work Adjustment Training program she completed through Beacon Group with getting her life back on track. “I was able to make it past obstacles that I had been struggling with for years.” The program focuses on developing greater soft skills and learning new work behaviors, skills that move individuals seeking employment or career advancement closer to their career goals.

After completing the program, Beacon Group helped Addie with job application prep by improving interview skills. Just a few short months later, Addie was hired into an entry level answering service position at Contact One Call Center. After only a month, she was promoted to a customer support center role for Banner Insurance.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

As a tax credit donor, you can make a gift, empowering people with disabilities like Addie on their employment journey and receive dollar-for-dollar credit back on your state tax return.

Your tax credit donation can provide two weeks of job training services for an individual with a disability or resume building and interview skill development for four individuals with disabilities.

With a 65-year history of serving Southern Arizona, Beacon Group ensures your dollars are stewarded in the most effective way to help as many people with disabilities achieve employment.

Like Addie says: “You are capable of great changes. People are built like phoenixes. We rise from our ashes. Sometimes we crumble to the ground, but there is always a way back up again. Always.”