The Ticket To Work Program – My Ticket To Freedom

Hello and Welcome! As always, thank you for taking the time to visit our blog. We hope you find something in this space to inform you about the Ticket-To-Work Program (MEO Style), through the eyes of someone who has walked the walk. The TTWP doesn’t just change the lives of those who have (dis)abilities and have been gifted a ticket, but the positive effects of returning to work trickle down and flow all around us.

So, I gave this some thought and would like to share it with you. The definition of a ticket is something that gives the holder a certain right to enter a certain space or to participate in certain activities. As we know, most tickets come at a cost. Most times, we choose the tickets for the spaces and places that we want access to, but there are times when a ticket may be gifted to us…not something we would have chosen, but perhaps an experience that could be life changing, in a good way.

To be granted access into the Ticket-To-Work Program, comes at a cost; not one that any of us chose to pay, but there it is. And so, we have to choose what to do with it…with us…in the midst of what ifs and the unknown. A ticket can provide a way out, or a way in, both leading to freedom. The TTW ticket did both, in my life. It was a ticket out of some incredibly tough days, back into a world of possibilities and hope. It was a ticket out of what I thought I couldn’t do, into…beyond what I imagined. It was a ticket out of not enough and a ticket into sustainability. It didn’t make my (dis)ability go away, but it has diminished the pain in so many different ways.

For those of us with (dis)abilities, the cost came long before the ticket. Although it was a gift via the SSA TTWP and can be an entrance into freedom, in mind, body and spirit…we don’t get to just sit and watch the event, after our entrance. After accepting our ticket, there is work to be done on the other side. We may not have had to work for the ticket, but we do have to work to make it work for us.

I’ve shared with you in previous blogs that the process of navigating through the TTWP – MEO Style, is not one of ease, but it is worth it. Whether you complete the program in marathon record time, at a snail’s pace or don’t complete it at all…the experience, what you learn about you and what you can or can’t do…if you can work or not…without the ticket…you might not know. How sad it would be, not to have the option or opportunity to try…to see if you could. Because if you could or you can, it would be life changing.

The TTWP is not for the faint at heart, but if you let it, it will make you stronger than you were before you accepted and assigned your ticket. You have to be strong to listen to advice, even when you think you know better. You have to be strong to apply again, even after you’ve gotten countless thank you but responses. You have to be strong to have a (dis)ability episode, a trip to the hospital, surgery, etc…pausing to do what you need to do to take care of yourself, but still holding on tight, to your ticket and trying again. It also takes strength to accept and know that working, in the traditional sense, may not work for you and that’s okay. Without a ticket to try, you might not know. I believe that there is always something we can do or that someone can help us do that will bring peace and joy into our lives and those around us.

I didn’t ask for the TTW ticket, but I am grateful that SSA offered it, without my asking. It is the best thing that could have happened at a time that I needed it the most. It gave me hope and was a beacon of light in a sea of darkness. You will hear me throughout these blogs, continuously, thank Paula Viellet for the vision of My Employment Options and her heart for building a team based on our heart for people. I have forever thanks for the entire MEO Family, front and back office, for all they do to make a difference in the lives of people like me…those who have a (dis)ability, seen or unseen, but still have a purpose and a lot in us that can be used to make a difference in the lives of those we are connected to, assigned to and in the world we live in. The SSA TTWP gifted my ticket to me, and I assigned it to MEO, because they were the best fit for me. I had to work as hard as they worked for me to make it to the other side of my ticket, back into the workspace. This is not an easy journey to do alone. I’m grateful that I didn’t have to and that our clients don’t have to either!

Be encouraged!! Thank you for stopping in and continuing this journey with us. If you’ve already paid the price and have been granted a TTW ticket, hold on to it as you navigate through the ebb and flow of the process. Don’t give up until you complete the program or come to an informed conclusion about what your next steps should be. Take good care of yourself and continue to search for and find things that warm your heart and put a smile on your face, even in the midst of…! And remember, we can never find what we stop looking for! Until next time…

**If this is your first visit to our blog site, please feel free to visit previous blogs. If you’re interested in more information regarding applying for the MEO Ticket to Work Program…click here: https://myemploymentoptions.com/apply-now/