6
Rehabilitation—A Constant Factor
By ELIZABETH D OTSON
During the week of June 2, Voca
tional Reha bil. tatiqn agencies in each
of the 48 states, the D istrict of Colum
bia, Hawaii and Puerto Rico celebrated
their 25 th anniversary. "W ith the close
of this first 25 years,” stated Mr. C. L.
Feike, Acting Director of Vocational
Rehabilitation in Oregon, "this public
service passes from an experimental
stage into an era in which we can now
; say definitely what we can offer.” Mr.
Feike made this statement in his talk at
the July meeting of the Library Build
ing Chapter of the OSEA. Quoting a
national publication, he continued, "The
Nation loses a war within its own bord
ers each year w ith a staggering toll of
800,000 persons seriously injured—
100,000 of them so severely disabled
as to require special services to render
them employable.”
The Oregon Vocational Rehabilita
tion agency through its offices in Sa
lem, Portland and Eugene, in coopera
tion with a part-tim e medical consult
ant and with other departments and
agencies, is helping to conserve our
greatest asset— working usefulness. Like
other public services, vocational rehab
ilitation is not only a humanitarian mea
sure; it is also good business to help the
disabled to help themselves. Mr. Feike
estimated the individual case cost in
Oregon for last year at $264, a nonre
curring, expenditure which compares
favorably with the $300 to $500 re
quired each year to support a dependent
person at public expense. Once trained
and employed, the rehabilitated person
is an independent wage earner.
A t present the Oregon department
has persons in 71 fields of training.
Once-disabled men and women are now
shoe and watch repairmen, barbers, auto
mechanics, doctors, lawyers, secretaries,
florists, rug weavers, artists and em
ployees in a m ultitude of other positions.
Mr. Feike exhibited several posters
displaying pictures of persons now do-
ing new jobs. One young man was
shown speaking into a microphone—
he had learned radio announcing. A
World W ar II veteran worked at his
drawing board— he has just received a
contract to illustrate a new book. A
young woman with a broken back was
doing secretarial work. Two tubercul
osis patients, who learned their new
work while still in the sanitorium, were
shown in a laboratory as technicians.
Two elderly gentlemen who had not
been defeated by handicaps were pic
tured using their new skills; one, after
a brush-up course in bookkeeping, is.
employed as timekeeper, the other does
book binding in his own shop. Two
young men were busy grinding optical
lenses.
The Rok Crystal Company in Port
land, which serves the entire northwest
with lenses for all types of instrumentSj
is staffed 100 percent by disabled per
sons who have been rehabilitated by the
state agency. Thoroughly satisfied with
these employees, the manager wishes to
have more when such persons need em
ployment.
The department aims to make early
location of persons in need of assistance.
To do this they have wisely made use
of established agencies which supple
ment rather than duplicate vocational
rehabilitation activities. All 40 degree
cases, those awarded $1,000 in benefits,
are referred automatically from the
State Industrial Accident Commission.
The Oregon Tuberculosis Association
gives notice of cases and helps finan
cially through its assistance fund. Se
lective Service sends in the names of
disabled veterans, who, once returned to
civiilan life, have the choice of seeking
aid from a veterans’ agency or from
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